Volunteer Tourism - International - September 2008

• Publication date: October 2008
• Report size: 67 pages

About this report Driven by the desire to deeply understand and experience the place they are visiting, tourists are seeking more hands-on travel opportunities. Volunteer tourism, an emerging new trend, seeks to fulfil this desire to visit, experience and give back. Tourists seeking to provide a volunteer service as part of their holiday experience are part of a growing trend. In fact, industry statistics and media reports suggest that it is o...

About this report
Driven by the desire to deeply understand and experience the place they are visiting, tourists are seeking more hands-on travel opportunities. Volunteer tourism, an emerging new trend, seeks to fulfil this desire to visit, experience and give back. Tourists seeking to provide a volunteer service as part of their holiday experience are part of a growing trend. In fact, industry statistics and media reports suggest that it is one of the most promising trends in travel.

However, the industry is struggling to brand itself. There are those who feel that short-term volunteer tourism trips do not really help the local destination. Others believe that even one day of volunteering paired with six days of surfing or sightseeing is better than not volunteering at all. Some industry veterans are concerned that with the surge of media coverage, the market may be flooded with new entrants that have failed to vet their projects sufficiently or want to make money through poorly planned, ill-conceived volunteer projects.

Emerging communication technology such as Web 2.0, social media and other information sources are especially prevalent among some volunteer tourism segments. Awareness of volunteer tourism opportunities continues to expand through viral marketing, social networks, grass roots communication and consumer to consumer information sharing. This is causing a shift in the way in which the traditional tourism consumer and provider interact.

Travel & Tourism Analyst is a bimonthly newsletter providing an examination of the travel industry, sector by sector. Each issue includes five objective and detailed studies on sectors and issues of interest and importance, across the international tourism industry.

Transport - from air transport and car hire, to the cruise industry, rail and coach travel

Outbound Markets - detailed profiles of the world's leading tourism origin countries

Market Segments - key sectors of the travel and tourism industry, ie youth travel

Accommodation, Leisure and Theme Parks - the performance of the hotel industry, resorts, timeshare, as well as developments in the attractions market

Travel Distribution and Technology - the travel trade worldwide, including the impact of new technology on travel distribution and marketing

Financial Services - ranging from tourism investment to paying for travel

Occasional Studies - other significant issues, such as the role of tourism organisations and the impact of travel on the environment.

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Travel Services Industry

Contents

Introduction

Data Sources

What is Volunteer Tourism?
Tourism
Volunteerism
Volunteer tourism
Definitions
Principles and guidelines
Market Characteristics

Retiree Generation and Baby Boomers
Generation X
Generation Y
Figure 1: Motivation for Australian Generation Y volunteer leisure travellers, April 2008
Gappers
Families
Traveller philanthropy
Corporate travel or team building
Scientific and academic volunteers
Market Size and Trends

Profiles of main source markets
Western Europe
Figure 2: Total voluntary work holidays in the UK, 2006 and 2007
Figure 3: International versus domestic voluntary work holidays in the UK, 2006
US
Figure 4: US professionals who would consider taking a leave from the workforce, 2007
Australia
Destinations Overview

Popular volunteer tourism destinations
Figure 5: Most desired international destinations for US-based volunteer tourists, 2007
Figure 6: Most popular overseas destinations for UK-based volunteer tourists, 2007
Africa and the Middle East
Central and South America
Europe
North America
Figure 7: Top ten destination states for long-distance volunteers, 2007
Typical Volunteer Tourism Activities

Figure 8: Most popular volunteer tourism activities for US-based volunteer tourists, 2008
Construction
Teaching
Health-related assistance
Disaster relief
Key Volunteer Tourism Market Players

The partnership challenge
Volunteer-sending organisations
Cross-Cultural Solutions
Earthwatch
Global Vision International (see Case Studies of Volunteer Tourism Providers)
Global Volunteers
i-to-i
Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO)
Other volunteer-sending organisations
Volunteer-receiving agencies
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI)
National Trust (UK)
Hotels, Cruise Lines, Airlines and Travel Distributors – innovation in volunteer tourism

Hotels
Cruise lines
Airlines
Travel distributors
Web 2.0, social networking, blogs and electronic media
Volunteer Tourism Associations and Electronic Information Sources

Volunteer tourism associations
Blogs
E-information sources
Case Studies of Volunteer Tourism Providers
Global Vision International
Industry comment: interview with Richard Walton, director and founder, GVI International
Bridge Linguatec, Inc; Bridge Volunteers and Volunteer Adventures
Industry comment: interview with Jean-Marc Alberola, president, Bridge Linguatec, Inc
What Next?
Credibility issues
Travelling closer to home
Continued market growth
Blurred boundaries in the industry
Age-specific volunteer tourism products
Social networks and Web 2.0
Diversification of volunteer service travel options