Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T18:20:49.655Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Volunteer Tourism: Powerful Programs or Predisposed Participants?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2012

Andrew W. Bailey  and
Keith C. Russell
Andrew W. Bailey*
Affiliation:
Calvin College, USA
Keith C. Russell
Affiliation:
Western Washington University, USA
*
Address for correspondence: Andrew W. Bailey, Assistant Professor, Recreation, Calvin College, 2347 Jefferson Dr SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in initial status and growth trajectories of college students who did and did not participate in a voluntourism experience. A key objective of the study was to explore the backgrounds of the participants, comparing them to similar nonvoluntourists, to better understand what compelled them to spend their spring break engaged in community service in a distant location. The participants were 617 students at a university in the Midwestern United States, half of whom participated in a voluntour. Voluntourists reported higher levels of yearly civic engagement, civic attitude, openness, compassion, cognitive drive and reflectivity. The developmental disparities evident before the tour continued to grow over the course of five weeks. Implications for marketing, program design and education are discussed within the context of the burgeoning voluntourism industry.

Keywords

VoluntourismTourist profilealternative travel
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management , Volume 19 , July 2012 , e12
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amabile, T.M., Hill, K.G., Hennessey, B.A., & Tighe, E.M. (1994). The Work Preference Inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66 (5), 950–967.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ardelt, M. (2000). Antecedents and effects of wisdom in old age. Research on Aging, 22 (4), 360–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ardelt, M. (2003). Empirical assessment of a three-dimensional wisdom scale. Research on Aging, 25 (3), 275–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Association for Tourism and Leisure Education. (2008). Volunteer tourism: A global analysis. DA Arnhem, Netherlands: Author.Google Scholar
Astin, A.W., Sax, L.J., & Avalos, J. (1999). Long-term effects of volunteerism during the undergraduate years. The Review of Higher Education, 22 (2), 187–202.Google Scholar
Bailey, A., & Russell, K. (2008). Psycho-social benefits of a service-learning experience. Journal of Unconventional Parks, Tourism & Recreation Research, 1 (1), 9–16.Google Scholar
Bailey, A., & Russell, K.C. (2009). Engaging youth through volunteer travel: In service of the common good. Journal of Youth Development, 4 (4), 60–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, A., & Russell, K.C. (2010). Predictors of interpersonal growth in volunteer tourism: A latent curve approach. Leisure Sciences, 32 (4), 352–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benson, A., & Siebert, N. (2009). Volnuteer tourism: Motivations of German participants in South Africa. Annals of Leisure Research, 23 (3), 295–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, S., & Lehto, X. (2005). Traveling with a purpose: Understanding the motives and benefits of volunteer vacationers. Current Issues in Tourism, 8 (6), 479–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, S., & Morrison, A. (2003). Expanding volunteer vacation participation. An exploratory study on the mini-mission concept. Tourism Recreation Research, 28 (3), 73–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buch, K., & Harden, S. (2011). The impact of a service-learning project on student awareness of homelessness, civic attitudes, and stereotypes toward the homeless. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 15 (3), 45.Google Scholar
Burgoyne, M. (2007, October 26). Voluntourism: Is the cause worth the cost? The Ubyssey. Retrieved from http://ubyssey.bc.ca/2007/10/26Google Scholar
Butcher, J., & Smith, P. (2010). ‘Making a difference’ through volunteer tourism and development. Tourism Recreation Research, 35 (1), 27–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, L., & Smith, C. (2006). What makes them pay? Values of volunteer tourists working for sea turtle conservation. Environmental Management, 38 (1), 84–98.Google Scholar
Carlo, G., Okun, M.A., Knight, G.P., & de Guzman, M. (2005). The interplay of traits and motives on volunteering: Agreeableness, extraversion and prosocial value motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1293–1305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, S., Fang, C., Ling, Y., & Tsai, B. (2011). Effects of socioeconomic status on leisure volunteering constraints: a structural equation model. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 39 (4), 477–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, E. (1979). A phenomenology of tourist experiences. Sociology, 13, 179–201.Google Scholar
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Dolnicar, S., Laesser, C., & Matus, K. (2009). Online versus paper: Format effects in tourism surveys. Journal of Travel Research, 47 (3), 295–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, E.H. (1982). The life cycle completed. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Ewert, A., & Sibthorp, J. (2009). Creating outcomes through experiential education: The challenge of confounding variables. Journal of Experiential Education, 31 (3), 376–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foster-Bey, J. (2008). Do race, ethnicity, citizenship, and socio-economic status determine civic engagement? (Background Paper for 2008 Annual Service Conference No. CIRCLE Working paper #62). Medford, MA: The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.Google Scholar
Gold, J. (2011, June 3). U.S. foreign aid efforts get a corporate boost. Today. Msnbc.com. Retrieved from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43190484/ns/us_news-giving/#Google Scholar
Goleman, D. (2002). Primal Leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.Google Scholar
Goodwin, H. (2008). Pro-poor tourism- a response. Third World Quarterly, 29 (5), 869–871.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guttentag, D. (2009). The possible negative impacts of voluntourism. International Journal of Tourism Research, 11, 537–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, K.A., & Presley, J. (2003). Globalisation and the values of volunteering and leisure. World Leisure, 45 (2), 43–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howell, D.C. (2002). Statistical methods for psychology (Vol. 5). Pacific Grove, CA: Duxbury.Google Scholar
Iso-Ahola, S. (1982). Toward a social-psychological theory of tourist motivation. Annals of Tourism Research, 9, 256–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jamal, T., Taillon, J., & Dredge, D. (2011). Sustainable tourism pedagogy and academic-community collaboration: A progressive service-learning approach. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 11 (2), 133–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kline, R. (2004). Beyond significance testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Kloushofer, A. (2007). Gap year voluntourists told not to bother. World Volunteer Web. Retrieved from http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/join-the-network/blogs/doc/gap-year-voluntourists-told-not.htmlGoogle Scholar
Lo, A., & Lee, C. (2011). Motivations and perceived value of volunteer tourists from Hong Kong. Tourism Management, 32 (2), 326–334.Google Scholar
Lundy, B.L. (2007). Service-learning in life-span developmental psychology: Higher exam scores and increased empathy. Teaching of Psychology, 34 (1), 23–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, K.D. (2003). Ambiguities in volunteer tourism: A case study of Australians participating in a J-1 Visitor Exchange Program. Tourism Recreation Research, 28 (3), 5–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, K.D., & Wearing, S. (2008). Journeys of discovery in volunteer tourism. Cambridge, MA: CABI.Google Scholar
Mabry, J.B. (1998). Pedagogical variations in service-learning and student outcomes: How time, contact, and reflection matter. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 5, 32–47.Google Scholar
McCrae, R.R., & Costa, P.T. (1999). A five-factor theory of personality (Vol. 2, pp. 139–154). New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
McGehee, N. (2002). Alternative tourism and social movements. Annals of Tourism Research, 99 (1), 124–143.Google Scholar
McGehee, N.G., & Andereck, K. (2008). ‘Pettin the critters’: Exploring the complex relationship between volunteers and the voluntoured in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA and Tijuana, Mexico. Journeys of discovery in volunteer tourism (pp. 12–24). Cambridge, MA: CABI.Google Scholar
McGehee, N., & Santos, C. (2005). Social change, discourse and volunteer tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 32 (3), 760–779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, D., Hurd, A., & Rogers, N. (2005). Kraus’ recreation and leisure in modern society. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Publishers.Google Scholar
Meera, K., Karau, S., & Schmeck, R. (2009). Role of the Big Five personality traits in predicting college students' academic motivation and achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 19 (1), 47–52.Google Scholar
Mustonen, P. (2006). Volunteer tourism: Postmodern pilgrimage? Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 3 (3), 160–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mustonen, P. (2007). Volunteer tourism: Altruism or mere tourism? Anatolia, 18 (1), 97–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okasha, S. (2005). Biological Altruism (Summer edition.). Stanford: The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.Google Scholar
Palacios, C. (2010). Volunteer tourism, development and education in a post-colonial world: Conceiving global connections beyond aid. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18 (7), 861–878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papi, D. (2010, February 25). Voluntourism: Blessing or curse? Lessons I Learned. Retrieved October 3, 2011, from http://www.lessonsilearned.orgGoogle Scholar
Pearce, A., & Lee, U. (2005). Developing the travel career approach to tourist motivation. Journal of Travel Research, 43 (3), 226–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, C.L., Komro, K.A., Jones, R.M., Munson, K., Williams, C.L., & Jason, L. (2002). The measurement of wisdom and its relationship to adolescent substance use and problem behaviors. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 12 (1), 45–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plog, S. (1994). Developing and using psychographics in tourism research. Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality research (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Putnam, R.D. (2001). Community-based social capital and educational performance. In Ravitch, D. & Viteritti, J. P. (Eds.), Making good citizens: Education and civil society (pp. 58–95). New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Putnam, R.D., & Feldstein, L.M. (2003). Better together: Restoring the American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Raymond, E.M., & Hall, C.M. (2008). The development of cross-cultural (mis)understanding through volunteer tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16 (5), 530–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Education Psychology, 25 (1), 54–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scales, P.C., Roehlkepartain, E.C., Neal, M., Kielsmeier, J.C., & Benson, P.L. (2006). Reducing academic achievement gaps: The role of community service and service-learning. Journal of Experiential Education, 29 (1), 38–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, K. (2004). ‘Doing development’: The gap year, volunteer-tourists and a popular practice of development. Journal of International Development, 16 (5), 681–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staudinger, U.M., & Pasupathi, M. (2003). Correlates of wisdom-related performance in adolescence and adulthood: Age-graded differences in “paths” toward desirable development. Journal of Research on Adolescents, 13 (3), 239–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Students Today, Leaders Forever, (2012). Get informed. General information. Retrieved from http://www.stlf.net/get-informed/general-informationGoogle Scholar
Taillon, J., & Jamal, J. (2010). Understanding the voluntourist: A qualitative study. Voluntourist Newsletter, 4 (1), 1–3.Google Scholar
The Saguaro Seminar. (2002). Social capital short form. Retrieved from http://www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro/measurement/measurement.htm#shortformGoogle Scholar
Trowbridge, R. (2005). Project demonstrating excellence: The scientific approach to wisdom(unpublished doctoral dissertation). Union Institute and University, Cinicinatti, Ohio.Google Scholar
Wearing, S. (2001). Volunteer tourism: Experiences that make a difference. Cambridge, MA: CABI.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wearing, S. (2010). A response to Jim Butcher and Peter Smith's paper ‘Making a difference’: Volunteer tourism and development. Tourism Recreation Research, 35 (2). 389–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wearing, S., & Neil, J. (2003). Refiguring self and identity through volunteer tourism. Society and Leisure, 23 (2), 389–419.Google Scholar
Wearing, S., Deville, A., & Lyons, K. D. (2008). The volunteer's journey through leisure into the self. Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism (pp. 63–71). Cambridge, MA: CABI.Google Scholar
Wirtz, D., Kruger, J., Scollon, C., & Diener, E. (2003). What to do on spring break? The role of predicted, on-line, and remembered experience in future choice. Psychological Science, 14 (5), 520–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wymer, W., Self, D., & Findley, C. (2010). Sensation seekers as a target market for volunteer tourism. Services Management Quarterly, 31 (3), 348–362.Google Scholar