AmyHuang
2008 travel trends - Voluntourism
Reference article: Travel trends in 2008 - Sydney Morning Herald
There are trends for everything these days. Yellow is back in fashion, over-doofed sports cars are now wanky, not cool and in travel, there are certain things the travel agents will target this year.
Included in this list is volunteer travel. Now this is something I feel, can sometimes be misleading. To many people take 'travel' for granted, and volunteer travel is a great way to mingle with the local communities in areas that are off the beaten track, it's a great way to feed the Feel Good Factor but too many tourists over-look the needs of the actual communities they are helping.
I myself, joined an Australian based Not-For-Profit organisation two years ago on a volunteer project trip to Peru. I had chosen the organisation because it was a charity organisation, not a touring company to start off with so I knew at least, they would have considered carefully how the projects were going to run and how to give the communities most benefits. Although, even after the trip I felt, only going for such a short time (3 months) we didn't really achieve what was ultimately good for the community and I felt I gained more in the experience than the people themselves.
Voluntourism was a term created to describe the tours that fit in some form of community work into a travel package. Ranging from a week to a couple of months, we the consumer can choose what sort of work we want to go and when we want to go. As more and more people are looking into this form of travel (as it is now a trend) - profitable companies like i-to-i and Geckos are running volunteer trips as well.
Although it's not to say that trips organised from profit organisations are bad. It's about choosing the right people to go with. A lot of it as to do with the individual's attitude too. Some people only go on these trips so they can say they have been on one. This is not a very good attitude. If you just want to travel, there are other travel off the beaten path options available. Going on a volunteer trip without the heart of wanting to do so, no matter how well the community projects are managed and organised, it still wouldn't benefit the communities if you turn up with an attitude.
My recommendation is before taking part in a voluntourism trip, sit down and think about the actual motives for choosing to volunteer, as well as reearch into the organisations that provide such opportunities. If possible, try choosing a not-for-profit organisation over a profit making one. Ask for their ethical conduct guidelines and read any FAQs available. This information gives you a good idea on whether the company is responsible in their project selection and execution. A little extra reading into the volunteering world and what the work involves will help too. There are a lot of websites providing free volunteer information and recommendations from professionals as well as previous travellers. Topical travel literature can also provide a lot of insight for those wishing to dig into the concept of voluntourism as well as traditional volunteering missions.
Further readings:
Volunteer - A Travellers Guide to Making a Difference Around the World (Lonely Planet)
Related websites and articles:
The World Volunteer Web
Reality Check: Volunteering Abroad (Coyote Communications)
Your Safe Planet - Your door to the world
Gap-year Research - for anyone doing, or interested in research on, the gap year, international volunteering & volunteer-tourism.
There are trends for everything these days. Yellow is back in fashion, over-doofed sports cars are now wanky, not cool and in travel, there are certain things the travel agents will target this year.
Included in this list is volunteer travel. Now this is something I feel, can sometimes be misleading. To many people take 'travel' for granted, and volunteer travel is a great way to mingle with the local communities in areas that are off the beaten track, it's a great way to feed the Feel Good Factor but too many tourists over-look the needs of the actual communities they are helping.
Volunteering is not just fun and games
I myself, joined an Australian based Not-For-Profit organisation two years ago on a volunteer project trip to Peru. I had chosen the organisation because it was a charity organisation, not a touring company to start off with so I knew at least, they would have considered carefully how the projects were going to run and how to give the communities most benefits. Although, even after the trip I felt, only going for such a short time (3 months) we didn't really achieve what was ultimately good for the community and I felt I gained more in the experience than the people themselves.
Voluntourism was a term created to describe the tours that fit in some form of community work into a travel package. Ranging from a week to a couple of months, we the consumer can choose what sort of work we want to go and when we want to go. As more and more people are looking into this form of travel (as it is now a trend) - profitable companies like i-to-i and Geckos are running volunteer trips as well.
Although it's not to say that trips organised from profit organisations are bad. It's about choosing the right people to go with. A lot of it as to do with the individual's attitude too. Some people only go on these trips so they can say they have been on one. This is not a very good attitude. If you just want to travel, there are other travel off the beaten path options available. Going on a volunteer trip without the heart of wanting to do so, no matter how well the community projects are managed and organised, it still wouldn't benefit the communities if you turn up with an attitude.
My recommendation is before taking part in a voluntourism trip, sit down and think about the actual motives for choosing to volunteer, as well as reearch into the organisations that provide such opportunities. If possible, try choosing a not-for-profit organisation over a profit making one. Ask for their ethical conduct guidelines and read any FAQs available. This information gives you a good idea on whether the company is responsible in their project selection and execution. A little extra reading into the volunteering world and what the work involves will help too. There are a lot of websites providing free volunteer information and recommendations from professionals as well as previous travellers. Topical travel literature can also provide a lot of insight for those wishing to dig into the concept of voluntourism as well as traditional volunteering missions.
Responsible volunteering means both the community and you will benefit from the experience. Not to mention the friendship you can form with each other!
Further readings:
Volunteer - A Travellers Guide to Making a Difference Around the World (Lonely Planet)
Related websites and articles:
The World Volunteer Web
Reality Check: Volunteering Abroad (Coyote Communications)
Your Safe Planet - Your door to the world
Gap-year Research - for anyone doing, or interested in research on, the gap year, international volunteering & volunteer-tourism.
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Thanks for your comment Toni
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Thank you for the link! It is certainly important to do some research to make sure we are all doing the right thing.