Volunteer Tourism

Volunteer tourism, sometimes called "voluntourism," refers to the practice of spending vacation time and money traveling to a destination to perform volunteer service. While people have engaged in the practice of paying their way to help in another area for many years, the concept grew in popularity during the latter portion of the twentieth century and became a trend by the early twenty-first century.

Background

The rise in popularity of traveling to volunteer can be traced to the Peace Corps, which was founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Throughout the 1960s, there was an increase in the practice of combining formal instruction with volunteer opportunities, a concept known as service learning. Interest and opportunities to combine instruction with volunteer service continued to increase during the 1970s, and schools at all levels began to put an emphasis on requiring volunteerism from their students. As the number of schools that required volunteer hours of their students grew during the 1980s, more students began to seek out opportunities to travel and serve during school vacations.

In the 1970s and 1980s, nonprofit groups such as Earthwatch Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit focused on the environment, began offering trips during which participants could learn about a particular issue while also providing volunteer service related to the issue. For example, participants could learn about the effects of industrial pollution on a body of water while also working to clean up or improve the situation.

By the 1990s, corporations had joined the volunteer tourism trend as part of an increased interest in social responsibility. Corporate teams began taking part in voluntourism together, usually making the trip with corporate sponsorship. At the same time, the numbers of individuals and families scheduling their own vacations where they would work as volunteers increased.

According to estimates made by the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS), volunteer tourism has become a $2 billion industry, with an estimated 1.6 million volunteer tourists paying an average of $3,000 for travel and expenses during a volunteer trip. Nonprofit groups continued to organize service trips, but as the market grew, an increasing number of for-profit organizations began to coordinate trips as well. The most common types of voluntourism projects involve building structures and teaching.

Benefits and Criticism

There are a number of benefits from volunteer tourism for all parties involved. Volunteers have the opportunity to learn new skills or enhance existing ones. The trip can also provide an opportunity to meet people and see aspects of a culture not encountered during a trip to the usual tourist destinations. In addition to building new relationships and meeting new friends both among the residents of the hosting community and with fellow participants, volunteers gain a new perspective on life and perhaps a greater focus on future plans. Volunteers are also likely to gain a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from having an impact on the community where they serve.

The community being served benefits from the interest and attention of people from outside the area, and perhaps increased awareness of a particular situation in that area, as volunteers return home and share what they have seen and learned. It can also be beneficial for the people in the host community to be exposed to another culture or to see that people from outside are interested in their region of the world. This is in addition to any practical help received by the hosting community, such as rebuilt structures, improved infrastructure, or knowledge that is shared.

Corporations who sponsor their employees for volunteer tourism opportunities can see benefits in employee morale and improved team relations, as well as an increase in employee skills and confidence. Publicizing such trips can also improve consumer perception of the corporation.

While voluntourism may seem to be a good thing for all involved, it has faced some criticism. Some question whether volunteer labor is really a help when it comes to tasks involving some skill, such as construction, or whether the time spent teaching each group of volunteers the necessary tasks could be better spent in direct work on a project. Others point out that if the money spent on travel and accommodations were instead donated directly to the community being assisted, more work could be done by local workers. This would provide a boost to the local economy and could very likely accomplish more work in the same amount of time.

Considering a Trip

Those interested in scheduling a volunteer tourism trip can find resources through a number of organizations, including government entities, for help in choosing a location and service opportunity.

Some key aspects to choosing a worthwhile project include making sure that the local community is involved in the planning and working with groups with established connections to the region’s nongovernmental agencies such as nonprofit organizations and churches. Volunteers should also investigate the history of the organization that is arranging the trip, looking for any areas of concern such as complaints as well as checking its status with one of the nonprofit watchdog companies to see how its funds are spent.

Volunteers should also consider their own interests, skills, and temperament. Things to investigate include the living accommodations and customs of the area to be visited as well as the type of volunteering that will be expected and any additional costs that might be incurred. Volunteers should research local customs, beliefs, and culture to avoid causing harm or offense to the community. Finally, if possible, volunteers should consider the work being done and if their own skills align to those of the proposed project.

Bibliography

Kahn, Carrie. "As ‘Voluntourism’ Explodes in Popularity, Who’s It Helping Most?" NPR, 31 July 2014, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/07/31/336600290/as-volunteerism-explodes-in-popularity-whos-it-helping-most. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Pinfold, Corinne. "Volunteering Abroad Doesn’t Have to Be an Introvert’s Nightmare." Huffington Post, 18 Feb. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/corinne-pinfold/volunteering-abroad-doesnt-have-to-be-an-introverts-nightmare‗b‗9254852.html. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Rosenberg, Tina. “The Business of Voluntourism: Do Western Do-Gooders Actually Do Harm?” The Guardian, 13 Sept. 2018, www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/13/the-business-of-voluntourism-do-western-do-gooders-actually-do-harm. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Sloat, Sarah. "The Problem with Volunteer Tourism." Pacific Standard, 22 Aug. 2013, www.psmag.com/business-economics/the-problem-with-volunteer-tourism-64838. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

"Voluntourism." Corporation for National & Community Service, www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/resource/voluntourism.pdf. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

“Voluntourism: The Good, the Bad, and How to Do Better.” Global Brigades, 18 July 2023, blog.globalbrigades.org/voluntourism. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

"When Children Become Tourist Attractions." Friends-International, 20 Oct. 2011, friends-international.org/blog/index.php/when-children-become-tourist-attractions/. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.