Volunteer tourism: commodified trend or new phenomenon?

Abstract

This chapter argues that volunteer tourism has become a global phenomenon, with market predictions indicating growth in both size and value and with this growth has come the inevitable controversies that surround new trends or phenomena. It explains that in examining this phenomenon there is a need to examine a wider agenda beyond that of its size and growth. This chapter attempts to build around the ideas on the volunteer experiences from both their experiences and the experiences of the communities with which they interact. It also suggests that volunteer tourists cannot solely be aligned with neo-colonialism or neoliberalism. Volunteer tourism sits at the intersection of a great many areas such as mass tourism, international development and sustainability, and as such it is essential that we do not isolate our ideas to singular theories, approaches or practices, as this would then limit our ability to research and appreciate this phenomenon. This chapter provides an overview of this area and attempts to provide the reader with an analysis of its function and characteristics.

The impact of volunteer tourism on local communities: A managerial perspective

“…For some authors, voluntourism can be a strategy to develop the destination involved (Benson & Wearing, ) and a “tool for international development” because it fosters the tourist's engagement with the host community (Wearing, ). The creation of these relationships between the locals and volunteers can increase the mobilization of necessary resources, but most importantly, it can provide an opportunity for the exchange of thoughts and raising awareness of existing issues, which in the long term helps foster social change (McGehee, ).…”

“…However, empirical research on the impacts and implications of VT on communities is still limited. Lupoli () contributed to this, but little research has been done on the role of VT organizations (Benson & Henderson, ; Benson & Wearing, ). Coghlan () also agrees with this: literature on this subject has not paid attention, for example, to the origins and objectives of these organizations.…”

TEFL tourism: the tourist who teaches

“…There are concerns about the skillset held by TEFL tourists. Puntheumasen (2007) states that many foreign teachers in Thailand are 'out of field', meaning that they do not hold qualifications relevant to teaching or the subject being taught, which has been known to lead to poor quality of work undertaken (Benson and Wearing, 2012;Guttentag, 2009). This was supported in the data collected, where 54% of respondents were deemed insufficiently qualified to work as a TEFL teacher in Thailand based on their lack of university degree, teaching and English qualifications.…”

“…There are a range of TEFL organisation types ranging from charitable, governmental or nonprofit to commercial ventures (Griffith 2014). The prolific nature of the industry however can be demonstrated for example through the company named i to i, who offer TEFL placements as part of their provision, and despite their individual branding are owned by the profit-maximising organisation First Choice Holidays (Benson and Wearing, 2012). It is therefore perhaps no surprise that TEFL teaching opportunities provided by such agents have such strong associations with the traditional package tourism model.…”

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

“…The numbers were relatively stable throughout the recent recession and the growth of this sector is predicted to continue. With this growth, as indicated in the opening paragraph, the marketplace has become more commercialised (see Benson and Wearing, 2012) and the criticisms of the international volunteer tourism sector can be heard though the most prominent stakeholder voices outlining their discontent. The loudest of these voices are the volunteers, which is also evident in a number of the articles in this issue.…”