Volunteering is an important part of society, and volunteer tourism can have a range of positive impacts. The benefits of volunteer tourism for the volunteer are explained in a separate article; this article focuses on the positive impacts of volunteer tourism for the host community.
Recent years have seen travelling become more accessible, which has fuelled the emergence of volunteers within the tourism industry. This has formed the concept of ‘volunteer tourism’ or ‘voluntourism’.
Positive impacts of volunteer tourism
The positive impacts of volunteer tourism are predominantly underpinned by academic research on the ideology that volunteer tourism can be used as a tool for sustainable development.
In his early work, Wearing (2001) defined volunteer tourism as ‘aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments and research into aspects of society or environment’. This definition has a clear focus on the ways in which volunteer tourism can benefit host communities, as outlined below.
Helping the host community
The most notable positive impact of volunteer tourism is its impact on the host community and there are many ways in which volunteer tourism helps the host community.
The ultimate aim of volunteer tourism is to improve the well-being and livelihoods of the host society and environment. This typically involves working with locals who are otherwise ignored or neglected by society in some way.
First, volunteer tourism can help to create a stronger community – one where external support builds on and enhances the community’s internal strengths.
Secondly, a stronger community boosts community happiness. When a community feels stronger this feeling of strength can contribute to greater wellbeing.
There are many ways that volunteer tourism can help a host community, some of which are discussed below.
Money is directed to areas that would not normally benefit from tourism
Many developing regions with an influx of volunteer tourism projects are not popular destinations for other forms of tourism, such as leisure tourism, business tourism or sport tourism. As a result, these communities do not receive the financial benefits that other communities may do.
Volunteer tourism can help to address this by directing money into areas that would not normally benefit from tourism, bringing economic benefits for the host community. Research by ATLAS and Tourism Research and Marketing (TRAM) in 2008 estimated that around 1.6 million people a year took part in volunteer tourism, spending up to £1.3 billion (around US$2 billion), and the market has grown since then.
The same research found that volunteers typically paid an average of around £2,000 per trip. This covers housing, meals, projects, materials, administration and on-site staff support. This money fuels the necessary projects for the development of local communities.
Volunteer tourism projects not only provide a direct source of income, but the time and effort to conserve and preserve societies and environments can bring long-term financial benefits for host communities.
At the outset, this might seem like a large amount of money that is directed to said communities, it is not always as clear-cut as it may seem. With the rise of commercialism within the industry and for-profit host organisations, many have begun to question how much of the money spent by a volunteer actually goes to the local community. This is discussed further in the article on the commodification of volunteer tourism.
Enhanced cross-cultural understanding
When examining the positive impacts of volunteer tourism, some academics have found substantial evidence of enhanced cultural understanding (e.g. Coren and Gray, 2012; Palacios, 2010; Raymond and Hall, 2008).
Volunteering helps the local community by building the foundation for enhanced cross-cultural understanding by bringing together people from different cultures and places who might not otherwise meet.
This gives the host community with personal opportunities to learn more about other communities and cultures outside of their environment.
Likewise, the volunteer tourists also learn from host communities and are provided with personal opportunities to learn more about the host culture and this learning heightens cultural sensitivity and awareness.
See also: the reasons why people volunteer.
Reduction in racial, cultural and social boundaries
Likewise, Raymond and Hall’s (2008) research on the positive impacts of volunteer tourism found reductions in racial, cultural and social boundaries between the volunteer tourist and the host.
By enhancing cross-cultural understandings, volunteer tourism can help to reduce racial, cultural and social boundaries.
The appreciation for cultural diversity and learning from other cultures and people increases respect and understanding.
During volunteer projects, racial, cultural and social differences are explored, providing a deeper understanding of one another’s differences.
Relationships are built during volunteer tourism projects and knowledge is shared amongst the host and tourists. These relationships heighten the level of knowledge learned from volunteer tourism, reduce racial, cultural and social barriers, and encourage greater awareness of prejudice and its impacts.
Volunteers can share skills that locals may not have
Volunteers can bring skills to a local community, particularly skills that may be in short supply locally. Teaching English, for example, is a very common volunteer project and can help host communities to access education and employment opportunities. This growing niche is known as TEFL tourism.
In an article entitled ‘Volunteer tourism, development and education in a postcolonial world: conceiving global connections beyond aid’, author Carlos Palacios studied an Australian programme that sends university students on short-term volunteer placements in Southeast Asia. His research discovered that such voluntary projects can help to develop skills and knowledge such as the English language, intercultural competence and awareness of global development.
Volunteers may also bring specialist knowledge, for example of ecosystems and conservation strategies gained through study or research, which can support local conservation projects when combined with local knowledge.
There are a range of opportunities that volunteer tourism offers in terms of projects and activities. The range of opportunities reflects the number of skills volunteers can bring to the local community.
These projects and skills include:
Welfare skills for childcare, elderly, disabled and human right/legal.
Teaching skills for teaching a foreign language (TEFL) and sport coaching.
Environmental skills for natural conservation, wildlife protection and global warming.
Medical skills for hospital support and public health programmes.
Building skills for construction and renovation.
Research skills for wildlife monitoring and land-mapping-zoning.
Current teaching opportunities can be found on job boards such as this TEFL jobs board.
Enhanced social capital
Social capital refers to the networks, relationships, trust and shared values that enable a society to operate effectively.
Volunteer tourism, by nature, brings different cultures and communities together, which can be beneficial for society, as evidenced in McGehee and Santos’ (2005) research on the positive impacts of volunteer tourism.
During volunteer tourism projects, trust is built, values are shared, and friendships are formed, all of which are critical in enhancing social capital.
Contribution towards international development
The world is often described as divided between developed and developing countries.
Many developing countries face significant poverty and have limited resources to invest in their economy, society and environment, while developed countries generally have greater financial capacity to manage and protect them.
Volunteer tourism can bring people from these different contexts together. When volunteers and organisations from developed countries support communities in developing countries in ways that are led by local needs, they can contribute to international development – and all of the positive impacts above contribute to this in some way.
For more on international development in this context, a useful text is Introduction to International Development: Approaches, Actors, Issues, and Practice by Paul Haslam, Jessica Schafer and Pierre Beaudet.
Video: What is volunteer tourism? The pros and cons
Conclusion: Positive impacts of volunteer tourism
The positive impacts of volunteer tourism highlighted above reflect the expressions of several academics emphasising the way in which volunteer tourism can be used as a tool for sustainable development in parts of the world where it is needed. It is clear that each impact can multiply into multiple positive impacts.
Overall, volunteer tourism can help host communities economically, socially and environmentally. Economically, it brings money into areas that would not normally benefit from tourism. Socially, it can enhance cross-cultural understanding and reduce cultural, racial and social divisions. Environmentally, volunteers can contribute skills and knowledge to conservation. However, these benefits depend on projects being well managed and community-led – see the negative impacts of volunteer tourism for the other side of the debate.
Positive impacts of volunteer tourism: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about positive impacts of volunteer tourism.
What are the positive impacts of volunteer tourism?
Positive impacts include bringing money to areas that do not normally benefit from tourism, cross-cultural understanding, reduced social boundaries, skills sharing, enhanced social capital and contributions to international development.
How does volunteer tourism help local communities?
It can provide income, labour, skills and resources for local projects such as education, conservation, healthcare and construction, as long as projects meet genuine local needs.
How big is the volunteer tourism industry?
Research by ATLAS and TRAM in 2008 estimated around 1.6 million volunteer tourists a year spending up to £1.3 billion, and the sector has grown since.
Who defined volunteer tourism?
Stephen Wearing (2001) is widely credited with one of the first definitions of volunteer tourism, focusing on alleviating poverty, restoring environments and research.
Is volunteer tourism always positive?
No. Poorly managed or profit-driven projects can create dependency, displace local workers and harm vulnerable people, so careful choice of project is essential.
Further reading on volunteer tourism
Useful academic texts include Volunteer Tourism: Experiences That Make a Difference and International Volunteer Tourism: Integrating Travellers and Communities by Stephen Wearing, Volunteer Tourism edited by Angela Benson, Volunteer Tourism: Popular Humanitarianism in Neoliberal Times by Mary Mostafanezhad and Volunteer Tourism in the Global South by Wanda Vrasti. If you found this article helpful, the following posts may also be of interest:
- A definition of volunteer tourism
- Benefits of volunteer tourism for volunteers
- Negative impacts of volunteer tourism
- The commodification of volunteer tourism
- 10 things to consider before booking a volunteer tourism trip
- The reasons why people volunteer
