Operationalising sustainability in volunteer tourism by power-sharing with the receiving organisation

Abstract

The outcomes of volunteer tourism have rarely evaluated, and the sustainable practices, such as equality within this sector, are questionable. Extant research has indicated that miscommunication and poor volunteer placement management can lead to ineffectiveness and negative experiences for stakeholders such as host project staff and volunteers. Collaborative relations between the main stakeholders at a local level were evaluated and deconstructed to enable a better understanding of operational practices that influence sustainable outcomes for host projects. This evaluative study examined the role of the receiving organisation at the host destination in achieving sustainable outcomes utilising a case study in South Africa. An evaluative framework integrating realistic evaluation, collaboration theory and supply chain analysis offered in-depth insights into why the local contextual settings influence how collaborative relations among stakeholders can influence sustainable outcomes. The receiving organisation's knowledge of the local socio-economic contextual settings of each host project is critical to the successful engagement between hosts and volunteers which leads to equality. The evaluative framework offers an understanding of how and why the local contextual settings and the prosocial approach by the local agent are essential in enabling sustainability performance in volunteer tourism.

Progress in volunteer tourism research: From niche tourism curiosity to experience-based improvements

“…Researchers suggest that this can be done by emphasising the importance of "bidirectionality of knowledge", power sharing and collaboration (Eckardt et al, 2021). This approach was introduced as one that positively influences project sustainability (Eckardt et al, 2022).…”