Voluntourism

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Voluntourism , also known as volunteerism , volunteer travel or volunteer leave , is a form of travel that takes the middle position between vacation travel and voluntary service .

term

The term voluntourism is made up of the words volunteering and tourism and describes a form of travel. The trip itself is called a voluntour and the traveler is called a voluntourist . According to interest, ability and time frame, the traveler completes meaningful work assignments worldwide to improve social and ecological conditions. He also takes advantage of tourist offers. The duration varies greatly. Stays of a few weeks are characteristic. Voluntourists are united by the goal of wanting to do something good in the long term. “Voluntourism” is tailored to the wishes of the customer: adventure, exoticism, prestige, meaning.

Demarcation

Voluntourism belongs to the group of alternative forms of travel, which clearly distinguishes it from mass tourism . It shows points of overlap with other alternative forms of travel such as ecotourism , active vacation or community-oriented tourism. It is strongly oriented towards the maxims of ethics, environmental and cultural protection. Voluntourism should not be confused with pure volunteering or voluntary work, which are organized, permanent in nature and less of a tourist nature.

Travel motifs

Voluntourists are generally motivated by the goal of “wanting to do something good”, “wanting to give something back to the world” or “to realize oneself”. They are attracted by the authenticity of the environment and the foreignness of the distant culture. Other motivations for the often young travelers are the acquisition of language skills or orientation on their life path.

criticism

The criticism of voluntourism relates on the one hand to various possible negative social, cultural, ecological and economic aspects of the trip, and on the other hand to partially dubious, corrupt providers. In 2013, the News Enlightenment Initiative criticized the fact that the problems of voluntourism were neglected in the mass media.

According to official estimates, for example, around 80 percent of the children in children's homes in Cambodia are not orphans. Those children who are given into the care of the institutions by their parents do so out of poverty in the hope of free care and education for their children. This inevitably leads to stress. There is a permanent power relationship in the relationship with the volunteers. Volunteers want to provide help and sometimes expect feedback of gratitude from those in need. Since volunteers are only available for a limited period of time and people are constantly changing, there is on the one hand the burden of having to say goodbye again and again and on the other hand the repeatedly experienced experience of dependency on helpers in the voluntourism system.

Stress and risk factors

  • social:
    • social gap between traveler and what has been traveled;
    • insufficient language skills of travelers;
    • insufficient qualification (e.g. for teaching)
    • Possibly non-existent intimate sphere and the needy people to retreat from volunteers
    • constantly changing volunteers
    • emotional / social demands of the helpers on the needy
    • Risk of Child Sexual Abuse
  • socio-cultural:
    • Consumption of culture and authenticity of poverty: ("human zoo")
    • Loss of the local people's connection to their own traditions and rituals
  • economically:
    • Using the paying power of voluntourists;
    • Corrupt providers who take advantage of voluntourism
    • Lack of jobs for locals due to free filling of vacancies by volunteers;
  • ecologically:
    • Penetration into sensitive habitats of flora and fauna

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Badische Zeitung , Wirtschaft , February 7, 2015, Helga Riedl, Horst Biallo, badische-zeitung.de: Voluntourism: Take a vacation and do something good
  2. ↑ corporAID : [1] corporAID - The Austrian Initiative for Business and Global Development, Magazine 57, April 2015
  3. ↑ Vanessa Steinmetz, Maria Feck (pictures) report from Cambodia: "Voluntourism" in poor countries: "Don't come here for Instagram pictures" . In: Spiegel Online . April 10, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed April 10, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Vanessa Steinmetz, Maria Feck (pictures) report from Siem Reap: Cambodia: How alleged orphanages exploit children and tourists . In: Spiegel Online . April 10, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed April 10, 2019]).
  5. ↑ 2013: Top 8 - Voluntourism: Doing business with a good deed abroad. In: Initiative news clearance . Retrieved October 26, 2019 (German).