Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

Chapter 3:VoluntourismVoluntourism: An OverviewBy Kristin Lamoureux, Ph.D.Director, International Institute of Tourism Studies,The George Washington University• Volunteer Tourism – IntroductionAt the crossroads of volunteering and tourism is volunteertourism or “voluntourism”. While there is no single accepteddefinition of what constitutes volunteer tourism, generally itinvolves the inclusion of a volunteer component to a vacationexperience. According to one academic, to be a voluntourist isto “volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays thatmay involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of somegroups in society, the restoration of certain environments orresearch into aspects of society or environment.” 38There is a great deal of variation in the volunteer-to-vacationratio within a volunteer experience. Some might range from aweek-long vacation with an afternoon spent volunteering at alocal animal preserve while others might involve five daysbuilding a house with only a one-day leisure experience. Ofcourse, everything in between is also possible. The amount oftime spent volunteering versus participating in tourismactivities varies depending on the desire of the volunteer andthe needs of the receiving organization.• History of Volunteer TourismConstruction is the most popularactivity among surveyed volunteers.Credit: DC Cares.Volunteer service and tourism share a long history. Traveling for the purpose of volunteeringprobably began around 1915. 39 Within the last 50 years, prompted by the creation of suchorganizations as the Peace Corps, as well as increased awareness of global social andenvironmental issues, tourism activities that involve a volunteer component have increasedtremendously. In the UK and other parts of Europe there is a long history of the “Gap year”38 Stephen Wearing, Volunteer Tourism: Experiences That Make a Difference, Wallingford, Oxon: CABI Publishing, 2002, 240 pgs.39 Ibid.99