Why Should You Become A Volunteer Tourist?

Last updated: 8 October 2026

There are many reasons why people volunteer. Whether their volunteer tourism motivations are predominantly selfish or selfless, whether there is one dominant motivation or multiple motivations, everybody has their own reasons to become a volunteer tourist.

This article explains the types of volunteer tourists, the main reasons why people volunteer, and how volunteer tourism motivations have changed in recent times.

Today, many people recognise volunteer tourism as a kind act of giving. But the combination of volunteering and tourism is relatively new, and this form of tourism has grown rapidly. With this growth have come changes in the industry, and in the meaning of what volunteer tourism really is (see a definition of volunteer tourism).

We are also witnessing growing changes in volunteer tourism motivations. Whilst the reasons why people volunteer may have been predominantly altruism-based in the past, we now see strong notions of egotism amongst volunteer tourists. This has changed the face of the industry, bringing with it a range of associated impacts.

For more on the history of volunteer tourism, see Stephen Wearing’s seminal text, Volunteer Tourism: Experiences That Make a Difference (2001).

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Types of volunteer tourists

Everyone is motivated differently, and volunteer tourism is no exception. The reasons why people volunteer can be further understood by examining what types of people are choosing to take part in volunteer tourism.

Some people may choose to volunteer because they feel it is important to support communities and have an ultimate desire to give back. Others may feel voluntary work will provide professional development and support career-building, along with the fact that the work will enhance their CV. Others choose to volunteer to immerse themselves socially among different cultures and networks. And then some simply have a desire to seek adventures and explore new cultures and communities.

Some academics have categorised volunteer tourists by these motivations. The main volunteer tourist typologies in the literature are outlined below.

Volunteer tourist typologies

Callanan and Thomas (2005) categorise volunteer tourist motivations around six main objectives:

Destination.

Duration of project.

Focus on experience.

Qualifications.

Active versus passive participation.

Level of contribution to locals.

Tourists are classified into one of three categories; shallow, intermediate or deep.

Shallow volunteers are classified as those that are dominated by personal interest. They prefer short trips (e.g. a few weeks), demonstrate few skills, experience low levels of direct contributions to locals and tend to be more passive in participation; consequently impacting on their ability to contribute to the local environment or community sufficiently . They are focussed on self-interest and self-development and demonstrate motives such as CV and ego enhancement.

At the other end of the spectrum, those that tend to think more about the community are classified as ‘deep’ tourists. These tourists typically partake in projects that are longer in duration (at least six months) and possess specific skills and qualifications. For these tourists, the project and the impact on the environment and community are key to the volunteer experience.

McGehee et al, separate tourist motivations into three categories; the Vanguards, the Pragmatists and the Questers.

The Vanguards. The Vanguards are the most motivated. Demonstrating interests in skill building, seeking the most physically and mentally intense experience. This tourist type is predominantly the youngest.

The Pragmatists. The largest group of volunteer tourists. Motivated by cultural and social immersion, and the desire to connect. This tourist tends to be middle-aged volunteers.

The Questers. The Questers tend to be the oldest and tend to gravitate towards altruistic motivations yet demonstrate a lack of awareness of what their motivations are.

Daldeniz and Hampton (2011) separate motivations into two categories; VOLUNtourists and volunTOURISTS. Their typology heavily debates the motivations of volunteer tourists and whether they are motivated by the prospect of a volunteer experience or the vacation in itself.

VOLUNtourist. Someone who travels and is largely motivated by the will to help those less fortunate.

VolunTOURIST. Someone who travels and is motivated by their desire to travel and explore.

Volunteer in the week but tourist on the weekend?

Whilst the above typologies are useful in attempting to understand the reasons why people volunteer it can be argued that they are over simplistic.

The volunteer traveller has long been a challenge to define (see a definition of volunteer tourism) and the lack of clarity about the role of a volunteer tourist has created what has been described in the literature as ‘role ambiguity’.

The term ‘role ambiguity’ is essentially referring to the fact that volunteer tourists may not always be clear about their role all of the time. In fact, their ‘role’, so to speak, can change depending on the time of day or day of the week.

There is research to suggest that some volunteers perceive themselves as tourists at some points during their trips (for example when they have completed their volunteering duties and are visiting tourist attractions or going out to parties) and as volunteers at others (Sin, 2009).

Mustonen (2005) builds on this by identifying the shifting roles of volunteer tourists, who may go from being tourists seeking out pleasure, relaxation, stimulation and so forth during part of their trip to altruistically helping the community or environment at other times.

Many volunteer organisations offer more than just an opportunity to volunteer and allure people in by offering a ‘holiday type vacation’ too. This emphasises this concept of ‘shifting roles’, particularly from the organisation perspective.

Reasons why people volunteer

It is clear that there are a lot of different reasons why people volunteer. Volunteer tourism motivations can be diverse, multiple can even be merged into one-another.

Diagram of common volunteer tourism motivations

Below is a list of the main reasons why people volunteer as identified in the volunteer tourism literature.

Opportunity to travel

Volunteer tourism involves travelling to another country in most circumstances. This is appealing for many tourists and provides them with the opportunity to travel.

Some volunteer tourism providers combine volunteering with organised travel, tours and excursions.

Camaraderie

Volunteer tourism generally involves meeting new people. Whether the tourist is spending time with the local population, other volunteer tourists, or both, it is likely that they will form relationships with them. This camaraderie is often reported to be a highlight of a volunteer tourism experience.

Skill development

Volunteer tourism provides tourists with the opportunity to develop a range of skills, depending on the type of placement that they are undertaking. Developing new skills and enhancing their CV is often reported to be one of the dominant reasons why people volunteer.

Altruism

Many people will choose to take part in a volunteer tourism project because they want to feel like they are giving something back. Back in the early days of volunteering, this was the most frequently noted motivation, although with the rapid growth of the industry and changes in the types of people who are choosing to volunteer, this is often a secondary motivation nowadays (see the problems with volunteer tourism).

Adventure

Volunteering abroad provides a sense of adventure and fun. Lyons and Wearing’s book Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism: International Case Study Perspectives documents a range of examples.

Personal growth

On completion of their placement, many volunteer tourists explain that they feel that they have ‘developed as a person’. This is one of the motivational factors commonly noted. People may also describe this as ‘finding themselves’ or ‘learning more about themselves’.

Education

There is an inevitable educational benefit when undertaking a volunteer tourism project. Whether the tourist undertakes formal learning, for example by undertaking a TEFL certificate, or whether it is learning through their travel and cultural experiences, it is difficult not to learn a lot when working as a volunteer tourist.

Linguistics

For many people, learning a language is of particular importance to them. These tourists may choose to undertake their volunteer tourism placement in a location which speaks a language that they are hoping to learn.

Influence of family/peers

Some volunteer tourists choose to undertake their placements because of pressure from family or peers. Perhaps their parents have suggested it is a good idea or their friends are going and want them to accompany them.

Structure of programme

For some, the reasons why they volunteer are down to the volunteer tourism programme itself. They may like the itinerary, the company ethos or the way that the programme is organised.

Cultural immersion

Volunteer tourism allows participants to be exposed to a new culture in a way that isn’t possible with regular tourism. Many people state that this is a major motivating factor when deciding to undertake a volunteer tourism trip.

Novel experience

Volunteer tourism enables tourists to have a unique and novel experience. It is something that they may never do again and something that they will not experience at home.

Religion

Some volunteer tourism projects are based around religious centres or acts of religion. They may be organised by a church group or they could provide assistance to communities based on a religious approach or ethos. Many people will be motivated to join a volunteer tourism project that is linked in some way to religious practice, whereas others may simply be intrinsically motivated as a result of their religious beliefs.

Personal challenge

Some tourists seek to challenge themselves and joining a volunteer tourism programme can certainly do that! Whether through language barriers, being placed outside their comfort zone or being asked to do something unfamiliar, volunteer tourism can be a challenging experience.

Course requirement

Many volunteer tourism projects make up a part of an academic course. This can be a compulsory element or a voluntary element.

To live in another country

For some people, the reasons why they volunteer are dominated by their desire to live and work abroad. Some may prefer warm climates, others may be motivated because of the culture, cost of living or local attractions on offer.

Cost

Whilst most volunteer tourism projects do come at a cost to the volunteer, they can also offer lower costs of living for the duration of the project as they tend to take place in developing economies. This can be a motivating factor for some volunteer tourists.

To escape

Some people seek a form of escapism. Volunteer tourism offers tourists the opportunity to escape their everyday lives at home and to experience something different.

Search for authenticity

More and more nowadays, tourists are in search of experiences that are more niche, unique and authentic than the traditional package tour. Volunteer tourism offers tourists the opportunity to be exposed to a culture in a way that is more authentic and ‘real’ than they would be able to achieve if undertaking a normal holiday.

Reputation of volunteer tourism organisation

Most volunteers (although not all) will book their experience through a volunteer tourism organisation. The reputation and stature of said organisation can play a role in motivation. It is, however, unlikely that this is a dominant motivation, but rather it is likely a side-factor that is taken into consideration when organising the trip.

Are motivations selfish or selfless?

Motivations are largely grouped into two categories; personal or interpersonal.

Personal motivations are typically passive and focus more on the adventure of the project, the ability to enhance CV and build on career prospects and own professional development. Personal motivations are more focused towards personal challenges and egotistic in nature.

Interpersonal motivations, on the other hand, are mainly steered towards active participation. Focusing on culture immersion and supporting communities with an ultimate desire to give back and be dominantly altruistic in nature.

Personal (Selfish). Having an adventure, enhance CV, professional development, career-building and personal challenge.

Interpersonal (Selfless). Support communities, desire to give back, altruism and culture immersed.

So what impacts do these motivations have on the voluntourism industry?

Selfish volunteer tourists’ focus is steered towards self-development and personal enhancement and therefore typically produce a low-level impact to the local community and environment. Whereas selfless volunteer tourists are centrally focused towards high level contribution to the local community and environment and therefore have a much more positive impact.

Natalia Jesionka, a researcher on human rights issues across the globe, wrote an article on the reality of volunteer tourism, reflecting on inexperienced volunteers exploiting their privileges to go abroad for their own egos. Similar to the views expressed in her article, others have begun to question the possibility of volunteer tourism worsening the gap between the rich and the poor.

Selfish motivations of volunteering are commonly led by egocentric behaviour. Egocentric behaviour allows an individual to ‘redescribe’ their thoughtful act of kindness as selfless.

It is the inability to differentiate between the self and the other. For example, a person who gives food to a homeless person may be concerned for their wellbeing, but giving the food also makes the giver feel good, and not giving it might make them feel guilty. The act may therefore be partly motivated by the desire to avoid guilt.

In academic terms, egocentric behaviour is a motivational drive of self-interest, the desire to help others only when those actions provide self-happiness.

This concept is explored further in the article on the problems with volunteer tourism.

Video: What is volunteer tourism? The pros and cons

What Is Volunteer Tourism and Why Does It Exist? | The Pros And Cons Of Being A Voluntourist

Conclusion

In summary, it is clear that volunteer tourists have different motivations and these motivations can easily be grouped into two categories; personal and interpersonal.

Personal motivations have the least focus on community well-being and voluntary work in itself. Whereas interpersonal motivations reflect very little travelling desire and is largely focused on the voluntary work.

It is clear that the combination of volunteering and tourism raises questions on the complexity of voluntourist expectations and the difficulty in shifting roles between work and leisure.

So what do we know?

There is a lot of debate and scrutiny on voluntourism and their motivations becoming largely self-focused as opposed to selfless, and this topic makes for a good research project.

There is plenty of scope for further research here – for example, into the motivations of particular age groups, or the relationship between egocentric motivations and the impacts of volunteer tourism.

Why people volunteer: FAQs

Below are answers to some of the most common questions about why people volunteer.

Why do people become volunteer tourists?

People become volunteer tourists for many reasons, including altruism, the chance to travel, cultural immersion, skill development, CV enhancement, personal growth, adventure, education and the desire for an authentic experience.

What are the types of volunteer tourists?

Callanan and Thomas classify volunteer tourists as shallow, intermediate or deep, depending on factors such as project length, skills and contribution to locals. Other typologies include McGehee et al.’s Vanguards, Pragmatists and Questers.

What is the difference between a VOLUNtourist and a volunTOURIST?

In Daldeniz and Hampton’s typology, a VOLUNtourist is mainly motivated by helping others, while a volunTOURIST is mainly motivated by travel and exploration.

Are volunteer tourists selfish or selfless?

Most volunteer tourists have a mix of personal (self-focused) motivations, such as adventure and career development, and interpersonal (selfless) motivations, such as helping communities.

Why do volunteer tourism motivations matter?

Motivations affect the impact that volunteers have. Volunteers focused mainly on themselves may contribute less to host communities, while those with relevant skills who commit for longer periods tend to have more positive impacts.

Why should you become a volunteer tourist?