Vacation packages can include everything from dinner for two and limousine services to spa treatments and golf outings. Now, add to that community service, which offers visitors opportunities to make a difference in the places they vacation.

It is a trend with a growing audience;  approximately 3.7 million Americans traveled 120 miles or more from their homes in 2007 to volunteer, according to a 2007 study by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency. And a survey by researchers at the University of California San Diego Extension found that  40 percent of Americans said they were willing to spend several weeks on volunteer vacations.

This combination of vacation and volunteer work has been dubbed “voluntourism,” and it  is a welcome boost in cities like New Orleans, where rebuilding efforts continue. While the current economic crunch may be slowing down tourism nationally, those who follow the voluntourism industry say interest remains strong.

Following the devastation caused by Katrina in 2005, voluntourism emerged in New Orleans, but it was not until 2006 that people began to track its impact, said David Clemmons, founder of VolunTourism.org, a Web site that coordinates voluntourism programs.

More than 5 million hours of work have been put in by voluntourists in an effort to help rebuild areas damaged by the storm, according to  the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

“People want more for their money now on vacation, they don’t want to just have fun and waste money,” said Grace Wilson, a spokeswoman with the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, a private agency. “And you can do that in New Orleans in a way you can’t anywhere else.”

Nearly four years after Katrina hit the city, thousands of homes still need to be rebuilt, and there is no shortage of other recovery-related projects.

Kristen Lamoureaux, director of  the International Institute of Tourism Studies at George Washington University, said  three major groups are driving the increased interest in voluntourism:  baby boomers, college students and families.

Lamoureaux said that baby boomers have more disposable income and a desire to have what she calls “active” vacations. These aren’t extended service efforts though; according to the University of California  survey, 23 percent of baby boomers said one week is ideal for a voluntourism trip, and 36 percent said they prefer to stay in North America.

With college students, the connection may be even stronger, Lamoureaux said.

“Volunteering is almost engraved in their education,” she said.

Educational  programs  that push community service in middle and high school carry over to college and encourage students to serve others, she said. In the University of California survey, 45 percent of college students said that they would be willing to spend several weeks on a voluntourism trip and that they would be willing to go to Africa.

Across the nation, many universities have opportunities, such as Alternative Spring Break, allowing students to volunteer and experience the culture of a different city.

Though voluntourism is less popular with families, Lamoureaux said, some parents are choosing voluntourism in an effort to help their children see the “bigger picture.”

That picture is starkly apparent in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, one of the areas hit hardest by Katrina. Volunteers from across the world have flocked to the battered neighborhood over the past three years, but there is still much work to be done to restore the community.

On a recent weekday morning, one of those volunteers, Brandon Buitenhuys, was doing his part to help restore a piece of the community through his work at the Lower Ninth Ward Community Village Center. But Buitenhuys was also on vacation.

Standing silent and looking out over the center’s backyard, where he had helped clear debris, he said, “It looks really good.” Buitenhuys, 20, from Andover, Mass., said he considers New Orleans to be a vacation spot where he can “get away” but also a place where he can make a difference.  He has made several trips to New Orleans since the storm to help on recovery projects, he said.

Mack McClendon, executive director of the Lower Ninth Ward Village Center, said volunteers like  Buitenhuys “help keep things going” in the recovery process.

Some volunteers who came in the beginning have returned several times.  ”I find that most amazing, because they could easily say, ‘It was four years ago, get over it,’” McClendon said. But instead, he said, “they keep coming.”

In some ways, this commitment is helping to connect voluntourists and residents.

“A few days ago, I stepped outside of the center and one of the neighbors across the street said, ‘You back already, huh?’,” Buitenhuys said laughing. “It feels like home here.”

As voluntourism thrives and evolves, the expectations of some volunteers have changed, said Denise Thornton, founder and president of Beacon of Hope, an organization that was created in 2006 to help homeowners whose houses were destroyed by Katrina. Some of the volunteers now also seek more interaction with the people they are helping.

“Before, people came in with a giving heart,” Thornton said, but now they  are asking for more, like the opportunity to meet those they are helping. In return, the sponsoring organizations have a hope of their own – that the voluntourists keep coming.

“We hope they not only get an experience but go back home with a story about New Orleans and help people understand we are open for business and that there is still a lot of rebuilding to be done,” said Aleis Tusa, a spokeswoman for New Orleans Habitat for Humanity, which has relied on more than 75,000 volunteers to build more than 200 homes since the storm.

Quantifying the exact number of voluntourists to the Crescent City is  hard, but officials estimate that of the 7.1 million tourists in 2007, approximately 6 percent were voluntourists.

“It’s absolutely helping to bring more money into the city,” said Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman with the Louisiana Recovery Authority, a state agency. Visitors who spend money on food, housing and other needs all help contribute to the local economy, she said.

“It’s two-fold because people are spending money and are helping to make it a more livable place so residents can come back and live,” she said. According to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, New Orleans is currently at 72 percent of its pre-storm population.

Several luxury hotels are incorporating voluntourism into their businesses by offering service-oriented packages.

For example, the Ritz-Carlton connects guests, whether as individuals or groups staying for special events, with Habitat for Humanity projects.

For $100 over the room fee at the Ritz-Carlton, guests are provided with lunch and transportation between the hotel and construction site, said Char Shroeder, director for public relations for the  New Orleans hotel. Schroeder said that guests can sign up for the service online when booking their accommodations.

Ritz-Carlton guests can also purchase “Give Back Getaways” packages. Starting at $1,100 a night and requiring a two-night minimum stay, the first day of the Crescent City package is dedicated to volunteer work followed by a day of spa treatments. “Bring Back the Big Easy” starts at $259 a night and a donation is made to Operation Sudden Impact, which replants trees in damaged areas.

At various Marriott hotels in New Orleans, the “Big Easy Spirit to Serve Voluntourism Getaway” includes a $50 donation to Habitat for Humanity and a list of recommendations of various volunteer organizations.

While the national economic slump has not bypassed New Orleans, local volunteer organizations said that the number of volunteers and voluntourists has remained stable. This is despite soaring national unemployment and anecdotal evidence that Americans are generally being more frugal with their disposable income when it comes to luxuries like vacations.

Some organizations have said they believe that President Obama’s charge to Americans to become more involved in their communities will help the trend grow.

“I think the question will be in what direction it grows,” VolunTourism.org founder Clemmons said.  He said it could either remain a blend between volunteering and vacation or become an experience more like the Peace Corps.

Patrick Kelley, program coordinator for the United Way in Seattle and a voluntourist himself, said the trips are ultimately more of a learning experience and less of a vacation. He first got involved when he was on the board of an organization sending a volunteer group to Mississippi and later participated in Katrina Corps, a two-year-old organization that mobilizes volunteers.

“Every time I come down here I learn something different,” Kelley said. “People are so appreciative and I don’t think that they realize they are giving something back to me.”