Getaways where the objective is to get to know other destinations through activities that support and strengthen local communities or the environment. Voluntourism is a new way of travelling, a formula that is here to stay and the key points that define it are detailed below.
Participating in projects in Kenya that promote the empowerment of women in highly vulnerable environments, heading to Costa Rica to carry out activities that promote wildlife conservation, embarking on scientific expeditions to Antarctica... These are some examples of the different ways in which a tourism formula that arrived more than a decade ago and is here to stay is manifested: volunteer tourism , popularly known as voluntourism .
What exactly is voluntourism ? What does it consist of? What are the benefits of this way of travelling? This article outlines the main aspects that define this type of volunteer tourism .
What is voluntourism?
For some time now, many non-governmental organisations, associations and international humanitarian aid organisations have opted to connect with the population by offering them the opportunity to slovenia whatsapp data learn first-hand about the work done to help local communities through the work they do. These trips, which people usually make during the holidays, have been given the name of volunteer tourism, or voluntourism for short.
What are the hallmarks of this way of knowing the world?
Tourists usually pay a specific amount of money to be at the destination and on the selected project.
It is understood that this amount is intended, in part, to provide resources to the NGO or entity that promotes these getaways.
There are proposals of all kinds and in very different countries and regions, as pointed out in the first lines of the article.
The traveller is responsible for paying the full cost of the trip, as a rule, including both the flight and the accommodation, and an additional cost which, as explained in the first point, is a kind of donation to the association behind the initiative.
People who volunteer at their destination find a different way to connect with the places they travel to and to connect in a particularly direct and honest way with local populations.
The rise of voluntourism has led to the creation of agencies specialising in this type of getaway. The organisations themselves promote specific expeditions at different times of the year and thus volunteer tourism has become an alternative source of income for organisations and entities providing humanitarian aid and/or those committed to the conservation of natural habitats and the environment.
MASTER IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES AND DESTINATIONS
The time has come to decide. Your future, for the first time, is in your hands and you have the opportunity to train yourself to be who you want to be.
I want to know more!
Characteristics of volunteer tourism
There are several hallmarks of voluntarism. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) – now UN Tourism – has pointed out on occasion that solidarity tourism is growing by around 20% among Europeans, and highlights characteristics such as the following:
Projects that respect the sociocultural authenticity of the destination communities.
Initiatives that bring benefits to everyone, both for those who go to these places to participate in specific actions and for those sites that receive these well-intentioned tourists.
Collaborations in actions that have among their objectives the optimal and efficient use of natural resources.
Campaigns that contribute to reducing the gap between the first and third worlds, that participate in poverty reduction and promote community development.