The Impact of Volunteer Tourism on Host Communities - Essay Example

? Analyse and evaluate the impact of volunteer tourism on host communities Table of Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 7 References 9 Introduction Volunteer tourism is an alternative concept of tourism that is conducted by the volunteers taking up tourism for charitable activities aimed towards the welfare of the society. The concept of volunteer tourism has developed to counter the adverse impacts of mass tourism. The objective of volunteer tourism varies widely in its scope. The activities of volunteer tourism may range from clearing up areas of wildlife for their conservation to providing medical aid to foreign lands. Volunteer tourism is thus aimed at serving for the welfare of the community and at the same time facing the challenges in touring new places of diverse language and culture. Generally mass tourism is viewed as an activity of excursion or entertainment trip that is aimed at refreshment for the people undertaking the tour. The visit to new places is aimed at getting to know the language, culture and heritage of the places. The activities of mass tourism involve leisure with food and lodging, luxurious transport, etc. These activities impact the host community as it leads to environmental pollution and degradation and accumulation of garbage and waste. With the rise in globalization and increase in activities of the tourism industry, the issues of environmental degradation and conservation of wildlife and awareness of pollution have become sensitive issues all over the world. Volunteer tourism is an activity undertaken the volunteer tourists in undertaking tours to different places with an objective to serve for the welfare of the tourist spots (Benson, 2010, p.39). Discussion The activities of volunteer tourism has shifted the objective of tourism from the welfare of tourist industry to the welfare of host community or the places which host the tourist for a being popular destinations. The members of the community view the activities of volunteer tourism as restoration of nature and environmental balance of the host community. As a result of this, the members of the host community engage themselves directly in activities undertaken as a part of volunteer tourism. The members of the host community act in collaboration of the volunteers tourists and extend full co-operation and support to the volunteers in order to accomplish the goals of volunteer tourism. As a result of the volunteer tourism, the tourists are also exposed to the culture, language and social heritage of the area and thus there is a healthy exchange of culture between the local people and the volunteer tourists. The overall purpose of volunteer tourism being aimed at welfare of the host community, the local area is positively impacted by the honest efforts of the volunteer tourists. The volunteer tourists also have the objective of providing assistance to the community development projects that have been planned for execution. In order to be fully effective, the community development projects should be supported with necessary funds along with the knowledge and skill for efficient execution (Bricker, Black and Cottrell, 2012, p.49). The community development programmes may be aimed at development of children and women in the region, provision of food and nourishment for the under privileged, conservation of trees and forests, environmental balance, etc. The volunteer tourists play a vital role in collecting the necessary funding and also share the knowledge and skill required for execution of the community development projects. The volunteer tourism activities provide a means for the host community to increase their income levels and also accumulation of wealth. The volunteer tourist activities put up in the target destination for a period of time. Thus the basic and essential needs of the volunteer tourists need to be fulfilled by the economy of the host country. The supply from the host community is purchased by the volunteer tourists due to which the income levels of the host community rises. The rises in the income level also gives rise to savings and the level of liquidity increases. Thus the economic condition of the host country is impacted by the activities of volunteer tourism. However, there could also be negative impacts of volunteer tourism on the host communities. The volunteer tourists must be extremely knowledgeable of the culture and traditions of the host community, the policies of the government in the host economy and also on the barriers f community development. The volunteer tourists need to work in tandem with the community members in order to efficiently overcome the barriers of development effectively undertake the development of the community (Jamal and Robinson, 2009, p.25). In case of lack of synergy between the volunteer tourists and the community members, the welfare of the communities may be hampered and instead may lead to wastage of resources thereby causing decline of the conditions of the host economy. Volunteer tourism demands mutual respect and understanding between the member of the community and the volunteer tourists. The responsibilities for the noble cause of community development need to be shared in order to effectively implement the goals of volunteer tourism. Volunteer tourism should involve the members of the community in implementing the projects like development of housing facilities, development of infrastructure, etc. The availability of finance for the accomplishment of the projects is an important consideration for the volunteer tourists. The volunteer tourists must plan their activities in the host economy in such a fashion that community dev elopement project is not left unfinished. This would help to avoid the wastage of resources undertaken for the project. Volunteer tourism increase the prospects of employment opportunities and the acceptance of local goods and services. The heritage of the host community gets a chance of spreading to the world communities (Moufakkir and Burns, 2012, p.36). The local environment is conserved as a part of the efforts of volunteer tourism. All these activities of promotion and development pave the path of urbanization in the rural areas of the host community. Volunteer tourism is often criticized as one time activity and nor a sustainable activity. The activities are conducted at one point of time in the case of urgency and under the initiative of international non-profit organizations. Once the welfare activities for the host community are over, the volunteer tourists return back to their origins and there is not adequate maintenance of the welfare activity undertaken. The activities of volunteer tourism lead to uneven distribution of wealth in the community with the allocation of funds in the community welfare projects being allocated by the elite sections of the society. The labour class of people who are employed in these projects only receive low wage payments. During the course of volunteer tourism, there is ample scope of exploitation of lower class of people with the benefits being enjoyed by the upper classes. Each and every individual are not equally involves in the community welfare activities and the benefits and returns are also nor equally distributed among the members. These are negative impacts of volunteer tourism on the host community due to which the monetary benefits of the community and social development projects are not confined to the host community (Singh, 2012, p.26). The monetary benefits often leak out of the host economy leading to drainage of wealth. The volunteer tourism activities develop dependency of the host communities on the foreign aids. The host communities who have enjoyed the benefits of volunteer tourism at one point of time depend on the aid and support from the volunteer tourist bodies on a sustainable basis. This poses a situation of difficulty if the flow of aid and the activities of volunteer tourism are not carried out at regular intervals. Volunteer tourism is meaningful for the host community when the objectives of the volunteer tourists match the expectations and interests of the host community. The activities should be carried out the volunteer tourists in such a fashion that the local members of the community are fully engaged in the designed programs of social work and welfare. The volunteer tourists would need to come down to the grass root levels of the community in order to positively impact the host community with the benefits of social work. Without maintaining a healthy relationship with the community members, it is not possible to positively influence the conditions of the host community as it is likely to create tension in the society and project capitalist approach on the other hand (Wearing and McGehee, 2012, p48). The brand image of the tourism industry is fuelled by the marketing of volunteer tourism. The financial constraints of the host community is reduces as an effect of volunteer tourism. The conservation of nature and community, reduction of pollution level are achieved due to which the satisfaction and happiness of the visitor of the host community also increases. Conclusion Volunteer tourism helps to maintain the ecological balance of the community and reduce the adverse effects of mass tourism. The international funding organizations allocate funds for community developments and the volunteer tourists are the direct executors of such programmes. The planning and implementation of the volunteer tourists is extremely crucial to positively execute the community development programmes. The volunteer tourists engage in a whole some manner with the community members and a synergy between the two groups could effectively contribute to the social and economic development of the host community. The benefits of volunteer tourism help to enhance the satisfaction level of the visitor due to the economic, political, social and environmental stability achieved in the host community. References Benson, A. M. 2010. Volunteer Tourism: Theoretical Frameworks and Practical Applications. Taylor & Francis; USA. Bricker, K., Black, R. and Cottrell, S. 2012. Sustainable Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals. Jones & Bartlett Publishers; USA. Jamal, T. and Robinson, M. 2009. The SAGE Handbook of Tourism Studies. SAGE Publications Ltd; UK. Moufakkir, O. and Burns, P. M. 2012. Controversies in Tourism. CABI; USA. Singh, T. V. 2012. Critical Debates in Tourism. Channel View Publications; UK. Wearing, S. and McGehee, N. G. 2012. International Volunteer Tourism: Integrating Travellers and Communities. CABI Publishing; USA. Read More