Experiences of Voluntourism in Guangzhou, Mainland China

<p>Volunteer tourism is a relatively new field that usually involves a young person volunteering in a foreign country to improve the social conditions of a local community. In the past decade, there has been an academic focus on this topic that suggests there are potential benefits for the participants involved. However, critical analyses from a post-development perspective have recently highlighted the number of risks involved with these projects. The findings from these studies also emphasis the underlying goals of voluntourism, which can include creating a connection and understanding between the people involved in these projects, in addition to the projects being viewed as significant by the participants. This thesis will test if the experiences of voluntourists in a selected voluntourism project in Guangzhou, Mainland China relate to this goal. The results revealed that the project was considered significant by the participants involved as a result of recognising the importance of place to all participants, the identity of the foreign volunteer and how they relate to place and the members of that place. The recommendations from the academic literature can also lead to a long term connection and greater understanding between the people involved, by making comparisons with the process of integration. Through these findings, it can argued the experiences from the voluntourism project in Mainland China relates to the underlying goals of voluntourism, and a new body of knowledge is emerging in this field, which emphasises ways to improve the implementation of these projects.</p>

Experiences of Voluntourism in Guangzhou, Mainland China

<p>Volunteer tourism is a relatively new field that usually involves a young person volunteering in a foreign country to improve the social conditions of a local community. In the past decade, there has been an academic focus on this topic that suggests there are potential benefits for the participants involved. However, critical analyses from a post-development perspective have recently highlighted the number of risks involved with these projects. The findings from these studies also emphasis the underlying goals of voluntourism, which can include creating a connection and understanding between the people involved in these projects, in addition to the projects being viewed as significant by the participants. This thesis will test if the experiences of voluntourists in a selected voluntourism project in Guangzhou, Mainland China relate to this goal. The results revealed that the project was considered significant by the participants involved as a result of recognising the importance of place to all participants, the identity of the foreign volunteer and how they relate to place and the members of that place. The recommendations from the academic literature can also lead to a long term connection and greater understanding between the people involved, by making comparisons with the process of integration. Through these findings, it can argued the experiences from the voluntourism project in Mainland China relates to the underlying goals of voluntourism, and a new body of knowledge is emerging in this field, which emphasises ways to improve the implementation of these projects.</p>

Host Community Perceptions of Volunteer Tourists in the Northern Tourist Circuit, Tanzania

<p>The existing and growing body of volunteer tourism literature has broadly addressed a myriad of topics but with a major focus on volunteer tourists. Limited knowledge is available on how these volunteer tourists are perceived by the host communities. The current literature defines volunteer tourists based on the perspective from where the majority of volunteer sending organizations and volunteer tourists come from – the primarily Western, developed country perspective. This study argues that this Western-dominated and developed country conceptualization of volunteer tourism and volunteer tourists must be addressed. In response the study examines the perceptions and conceptualisations of ‘volunteer tourists’ from the perspective of a host community in a developing country, Tanzania. To capture a multitude of host community perspectives on volunteer tourists, a qualitative case study approach was adopted which focused on a village near Arusha on the Northern Tourist Circuit (NTC) of Tanzania. Forty five semi-structured interviews were conducted with different community stakeholders, including private sector and public sector employees, people working for the not-for-profit sector and local people without affiliation to any of these three sectors. Importantly, these interviews were conducted by a Tanzanian researcher in Swahili and/or English. This research reveals that various stakeholders within the host community have different meanings and understandings of volunteer tourists based on their expectations and experiences. For example, the local people and those working for the not-for-profit sector perceived volunteer tourists as donors and sponsors, while those working in the public sector perceive volunteer tourists as international workers and/or NGO employees; and the private sector respondents perceived volunteer tourists as niche tourists. The study also reveals that the host community attributes that influence their perceptions are based on economic, socio-cultural, environmental and legal and/or regulatory framework factors; this includes, for example, racial ethnicity and poverty. Moreover, this research found that the host community’s perceptions of volunteer tourists are shaped by the issues of trust and mistrust that transpire in the course of their interaction. The study highlights the need to consider the financial element of volunteer tourism as a positive aspect and stresses the involvement of host community in the operation and management of volunteer tourist organizations.</p>

Development, power and culture: Volunteer tourism in the Cook Islands

<p>Volunteer tourism is a significant feature of the tourism industry. The phenomenon can be described as a practice where people (typically from ‘developed’ countries) participate in working holidays, generally to assist areas of need. Specifically focusing on Global Volunteers in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, this study examined the development implications of volunteer tourism with particular emphasis on the relationship between Global Volunteers and development outcomes, the role of culture and the nature of power within the Global Volunteer programme in Rarotonga. The study took a qualitative approach to gain an insight into the experiences, stories and understandings of the volunteers, hosts and country managers involved in Global Volunteers in Rarotonga. Semi-structured and unstructured interviews and participant observation were carried out. The study questioned the notion that volunteer tourism could be linked to development. Despite the positive outcomes and valuable contribution that volunteers made, there was not a strong correlation between the practice and development outcomes. The nature of power was regarded as a significant and complex aspect of volunteer tourism. Power was revealed in both strong and subtle ways and the relationship between those involved was not merely the powerful verses the powerless. Culture was expressed as an authentic and everyday process which led to instances of cultural clashes and opportunities for cultural collaboration. However, deep cultural understanding was not easily obtained through participation in the volunteer programme. The study argued that volunteer tourism was neither good nor bad. However, the key feature of the volunteer programme involved the agency and ownership possessed by the host organisations to actively work with volunteer tourism organisations to define the type of assistance that the volunteers carried out.</p>

Development, power and culture: Volunteer tourism in the Cook Islands

<p>Volunteer tourism is a significant feature of the tourism industry. The phenomenon can be described as a practice where people (typically from ‘developed’ countries) participate in working holidays, generally to assist areas of need. Specifically focusing on Global Volunteers in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, this study examined the development implications of volunteer tourism with particular emphasis on the relationship between Global Volunteers and development outcomes, the role of culture and the nature of power within the Global Volunteer programme in Rarotonga. The study took a qualitative approach to gain an insight into the experiences, stories and understandings of the volunteers, hosts and country managers involved in Global Volunteers in Rarotonga. Semi-structured and unstructured interviews and participant observation were carried out. The study questioned the notion that volunteer tourism could be linked to development. Despite the positive outcomes and valuable contribution that volunteers made, there was not a strong correlation between the practice and development outcomes. The nature of power was regarded as a significant and complex aspect of volunteer tourism. Power was revealed in both strong and subtle ways and the relationship between those involved was not merely the powerful verses the powerless. Culture was expressed as an authentic and everyday process which led to instances of cultural clashes and opportunities for cultural collaboration. However, deep cultural understanding was not easily obtained through participation in the volunteer programme. The study argued that volunteer tourism was neither good nor bad. However, the key feature of the volunteer programme involved the agency and ownership possessed by the host organisations to actively work with volunteer tourism organisations to define the type of assistance that the volunteers carried out.</p>

Host Community Perceptions of Volunteer Tourists in the Northern Tourist Circuit, Tanzania

<p>The existing and growing body of volunteer tourism literature has broadly addressed a myriad of topics but with a major focus on volunteer tourists. Limited knowledge is available on how these volunteer tourists are perceived by the host communities. The current literature defines volunteer tourists based on the perspective from where the majority of volunteer sending organizations and volunteer tourists come from – the primarily Western, developed country perspective. This study argues that this Western-dominated and developed country conceptualization of volunteer tourism and volunteer tourists must be addressed. In response the study examines the perceptions and conceptualisations of ‘volunteer tourists’ from the perspective of a host community in a developing country, Tanzania. To capture a multitude of host community perspectives on volunteer tourists, a qualitative case study approach was adopted which focused on a village near Arusha on the Northern Tourist Circuit (NTC) of Tanzania. Forty five semi-structured interviews were conducted with different community stakeholders, including private sector and public sector employees, people working for the not-for-profit sector and local people without affiliation to any of these three sectors. Importantly, these interviews were conducted by a Tanzanian researcher in Swahili and/or English. This research reveals that various stakeholders within the host community have different meanings and understandings of volunteer tourists based on their expectations and experiences. For example, the local people and those working for the not-for-profit sector perceived volunteer tourists as donors and sponsors, while those working in the public sector perceive volunteer tourists as international workers and/or NGO employees; and the private sector respondents perceived volunteer tourists as niche tourists. The study also reveals that the host community attributes that influence their perceptions are based on economic, socio-cultural, environmental and legal and/or regulatory framework factors; this includes, for example, racial ethnicity and poverty. Moreover, this research found that the host community’s perceptions of volunteer tourists are shaped by the issues of trust and mistrust that transpire in the course of their interaction. The study highlights the need to consider the financial element of volunteer tourism as a positive aspect and stresses the involvement of host community in the operation and management of volunteer tourist organizations.</p>