A mixed-methods study on the values and motivations of voluntourists

ABSTRACT

In this theoretically grounded mixed-methods study, we explored the motivational values of voluntourists and examined the perceived impacts of voluntourism programmes. Surveys suggested that voluntourists (n = 82) had high self-transcendence (universalism and benevolence) and self-direction (freedom in thought and action) values. Eleven retrospective interviews with young adult voluntourists also suggested that participants were primarily driven to both benefit the host community and promote personal learning. Although participants gained personal learning and growth, they felt frustrated by voluntourism's limited benefits to host communities. Additionally, social justice education that participants received after the experience led participants to become more critical of voluntourism. Together, this research describes a subset of unskilled, well-intentioned, and self-transcendent voluntourists and provides recommendations on how voluntourism providers may better meet their needs and create more sustainable voluntourism programmes. Furthermore, we demonstrate how values research and retrospective interviews can deepen our understanding of both the experiences and perceived personal impacts of voluntourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Gap year
• intrinsic motivation
• Portrait Values Questionnaire
• alternative tourism
• service learning

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the faculty, students, and alumni of Quest University Canada, particularly J. Akers, H. Parschat, L. Stoner, R. Thillaye-Kerr, S. Bierman, M. Read, C. Friend, and L. Francis, for supporting this project and reading previous drafts of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Devon Alexandra Francis is a student whose academic interests include tourism, sustainable development, and critical geography.

Maï Yasué is a professor in social sciences and a widely trained scientist who has worked in conservation and development in Asia, Latin America and Australia. She completed her PhD on the ecological impacts of tourism development in Thai national parks and now conducts research on the psychology of pro-environmental behaviours.

Notes

1 S1 refers to the full list of the 19 PVQ items, S2 for the full list of the SJS items, S3 for the full interview schedule, and S4 refers to the demographic and program details of the interview participants (please reference the online supplementary information).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.