"Foment the education of young people of nations, especially of  limited resources, stimulating in them a bigger knowledge, affection and care  with the nature, as well as a knowledge of the cultural values of the cities, big or small onesl, of all parts of the world, and, facilitating this offering hostels with no prejudice of race, nationality, color, religion, sex, social status or  political opinions, understanding better the others inside their countries or out of it."

This is our  mission such as it is described in Art. 2 of the Statutes of the International Federacy  of  YHostels (International Youth Hostel Federation - IYHF).

Birth of the YHostel with Richard Schirrmann

Created with the objective to help the young people of limited economic resources to  enjoy the nature and the cities of the world, the hostels are nowadays in  the heart of the international tourism. The annual  contribution of the yhostels for the world tourism has reached U$ 1,4 billion.

Since 1909, year when the yhostels were born with German professor Richard  Schirrmann and his students, the moviment has already been converted into one of the  biggest associative organizations for the youth of the world, with more than 3 million of members with a very strong philosophy.

World-wide expansion of the Hostels

The Hostelling International generates nowadays more than 35 million overnights in its more than 4,000 hostels spreaded trhougout the world in 60 countries. Making a reservation could not be easier than in this internet site.

The current members can either be 50 years old and come with his or her family or come alone with a backpack, on foot or being part of a students group. To all hostel members the Yhostels are passports to culture exploration and to meet the nature.

The economic, social and politic ideas of the hostels has completly changed throughout the last century. The  movement left  its european original nucleus and held the whole world in order to satisfy the expectations of the modern young people with more free time and money than ever.

The Hostels and the Young People
The net of hostels allows to the young people of different nationalities, cultures  and  conditions to meet in an informal environment, interchange  experiences,   to know themselves and the others and to discover  the place where   they are.

The  hostels also play an important role in the young people development helping in their quality as future employees in the internation job market. The Yhostels promotes  the social conscience and points out the  importance of being a citzen in the relatioships. On the other hand, it helps to  develop the  self-discipline obtained living different  situations with responsability.

The young peolpe nowadays call attention to the ecological  problems of our planet and invite everybody to join them. Due to the strengh that characterizes the  hostels movement, the objectives have been reached.

Development of the Hostels

The Hostelling International makes efforts to foment the expansion and the  efficiency of the Associations of Yhostels of the whole world. Our  mission is to extend to the net of hostels to new places, implementing  the same  work  methods and high levels of quality everywhere, stimulating the hostel ideas with promotions and contributions at an  international  level.

The funds generated from our activities are reverted in  its totality  and, at this way, the shelters most income-producing help to  support  those  situated in smaller and distant places, The funds are also used also to pay for  intellectual and physical to help increasing the socia-environmental conscience among the hostel members.

Due to all these, the hostelling International keeps openning doors to the young people around the world, offering a service that always fill expecttions.