Social change, discourse and volunteer tourism

Finding oneself while discovering others: An existential perspective on volunteer tourism in Thailand

“…Volunteers are therefore wedded to certain aspects of everyday life-including the feeling that they are 'living like a local' with daily routines and responsibilities-even as they remain removed from some of the less attractive dimensions of everyday life such as paying bills, finding a place to live, or being stuck in a job that brings little joy or novelty. Moreover, while some studies point to the long-term transformative impacts of volunteering on individuals (Bailey & Russell, 2010;McGehee & Santos, 2005), the vast majority of volunteers interviewed for this research question the degree to which their experiences will translate into momentous lifestyle changes back home. Thus, even though this paper argues that the pursuit of existential authenticity remains an important yet underexplored dimension of volunteer tourism, it would be a stretch to claim that short-term community service performed by volunteers in Thailand leads to the same existential outcomes as truly disruptive or traumatic experiences, many of which do indeed produce permanent alterations in values or life choices.…”

“…McGehee and Santos (2005) argue that the distinctiveness of volunteer tourism helps to explain why it provides opportunities for consciousness-raising, while Coghlan and Gooch (2011, p. 716) treat volunteer tourism as a form of transformative learning, which ''changes problematic sets of reference to frames of reference that are more inclusive, discriminating, open, reflective and emotionally able to change." Much of the discussion of volunteer tourism's ability to foster personal transformation emphasizes the substantial and long-lasting impacts of the experience on the lives of volunteers (Bailey & Russell, 2010).…”

“…The growth of volunteer tourism in recent years has been dramatic, both in terms of the number of individual participants, and the number of volunteer programs being offered around the world (Callanan & Thomas, 2005;Tomazos & Butler, 2009;TRAM, 2008). As volunteer tourism opportunities have proliferated globally, particularly in low-and middle-income countries, there has also been a corresponding expansion of scholarly interest in the motivations, consequences, and activities associated with volunteer tourism (Benson, 2011;Lyons & Wearing, 2008;McGehee & Santos, 2005;Wearing, 2001). …”

Volunteering to Colonize: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Impacts of Voluntourism

“…Voluntourism is more detrimental that beneficial to the receiving country, both economically and socially. This conclusion is widely supported: voluntourism is "yet another form of post-colonialism and globalization, evidenced by exploitative tourism that occurs in many developing regions of the world" (McGehee and Santos, 2005).…”

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

“…In academia, in the seminal work of Wearing (2001:1), it is defined as 'a type of alternative tourism in which tourists volunteer in an organised way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments or research into aspects of society or environment'. In general terms, voluntourism is the use of personal time and money to travel out of the sphere of regular activity to assist others in need (McGehee & Santos, 2005).…”