Expanding Volunteer Vacation Participation An Exploratory Study on the Mini-Mission Concept

The representation of voluntourism in search engines: The case of South Africa

“…In this regard, it is widely accepted that voluntourism should generate a positive impact for locals in host destinations, and a mutually beneficial host-guest relationship in a tourist destination (McIntosh & Zahra, 2007;Sin, 2010). Nonetheless, despite the growing body of research in the field (McGehee, 2002;Brown & Morrison, 2003;Lupoli et al, 2014;Smith & Font, 2014), most studies focus on volunteers, examining their motivations and experiences (Wearing & McGehee, 2013). Few studies to date (McGehee & Andereck, 2009) discuss the role of voluntourism and its implications for hosting communities (e.g.…”

“…Voluntourism is an expanding sector of the tourism industry (Brown & Morrison, 2003;Bakker & Lamoureux, 2008) and can be categorised under 'alternative tourism' and/or 'ethical consumerism'. In this regard, it is widely accepted that voluntourism should generate a positive impact for locals in host destinations, and a mutually beneficial host-guest relationship in a tourist destination (McIntosh & Zahra, 2007;Sin, 2010).…”

“…There is a growing body of literature in the tourism field related to volunteers (McGehee, 2002;Brown & Morrison, 2003) and hosting communities (e.g. Higgins-Desboilles, 2003;Clifton & Benson, 2006;McGehee & Andereck, 2009).…”

“…Brown & Morrison, 2003;Callanan & Thomas, 2005). This is based on the altruistic practices of volunteering, which generally involve for-good causes that support social, environmental and cultural development, among others (Sheard, 1992;Wearing, 2001).…”

Why and how should the international volunteer tourism experience be improved?

“…Whilst International volunteer tourism clearly appeals to the 'youth of today', it must be clear that international volunteer tourism is not homogenous and the proliferation of organisations (charities, private, social enterprises, brokers etc.,) entering the marketplace has meant that the offerings have become highly segmented with opportunities for volunteering at different stages of a person's lifecycle -youth, mid-life, retirement, families etc., indicating a wide age range of participation (Brown and Morrison, 2003;Coghlan, 2008;McIntosh and Zahra, 2007;Stoddart and Rogerson, 2004). Furthermore, in terms of demographics women are generally more likely to participate in volunteer tourism than men (Brown and Morrison, 2003;McGehee, 2002;Stoddart and Rogerson, 2004).…”