Providing hope: influences of volunteer tourism on program youth

Abstract

Global South youth are considered members of a host community and are receivers of volunteer tourism development programs. However, their perceptions have rarely been included in volunteer tourism studies. Influences of volunteer tourism on youth lives tends to be from the “gap year” or young adult volunteer tourist perspective rather than program youth input. In addition, studies on influences of youth-focused community programs on program beneficiaries (youth) are prevalent in positive youth development literature but are noticeably absent in tourism research. Considering these gaps, the aim of this study is to explore influences of a volunteer tourist-led community development program on Moshi, Tanzanian youth as perceived by 40 study participants (program youth, volunteer tourist teachers, and community members). Particular attention is given to program youth participation and subsequent viewpoints. Findings from observations, interviews and focus group data contained within a qualitative case study design, suggest connections, emotional benefits and expertise are influences of volunteer tourism on program youth. A major emergent theme is the concept of hope for youth.

Keywords:

• Youth voices
• positive youth development
• community
• case study
• global South
• Tanzania
• Swahili

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Daraja Music Initiative, the research participants, and the community of Moshi, Tanzania, for your contributions to this research study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Study approval

Costech Research Clearance: RCA 2016/307

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lana M. Olsen

Lana M. Olsen, Ph.D., is faculty research associate at the Center for Sustainable Tourism at Arizona State University (ASU), and faculty affiliate with the School of Community Resources and Development at ASU. She studies volunteer tourism from the perspectives of volunteers, nonprofit representatives and community members, as it applies to sustainable community development. She particularly focuses on receivers of volunteer tourist-led programming in the global South, and how this activity impacts their lives. Additional areas of interest include community input in, and evaluation of, volunteer tourism projects, exit strategies, unique qualitative methods, and theory development within sustainable tourism and volunteer tourism. She has conducted tourism research work with organizations and agencies, presented papers at a variety of academic conferences, and taught university level courses to undergraduate and graduate students both in person and online. Dr. Olsen is also Founder and CEO for The Traveling Volunteer, a community-focused social enterprise with the mission to deepen community engagement through short term volunteering opportunities for the US and Canadian leisure and/or business traveler.

Kathleen Andereck

Dr. Kathleen Andereck is the director and vice dean of the Hainan University-Arizona State University International Tourism College and a Professor in the School of Community Resources and Development at ASU. Dr. Andereck is also a Senior Sustainability Scientist with the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability. Her research focuses on the tourism experience from the perspective of both visitors and residents particularly as it applies to sustainable community tourism development and the tourism experience. Some of her specific areas of interest include tourism and quality of life, residents’ attitudes toward tourism, volunteer tourism, and tourist behavior in outdoor recreation settings. She has conducted recreation and tourism research work with a diversity of organizations and agencies at the federal and state levels. She has also presented many papers at national and international conference. Dr. Andereck is a Fellow of the Academy of Leisure Sciences and has been a Fulbright Specialist in Iceland.

Christine Vogt

Christine Vogt, Ph.D., is professor in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University (ASU). She also directs the Center for Sustainable Tourism at ASU and is a Senior Sustainability Scientists with ASU Global Institute of Sustainability. She studies natural resource-based tourism and recreation primarily in park settings or nearby communities. Her research examines trip planning and information search. She has conducted numerous studies that model information search strategies and information sources used to plan and actuate trips to estimate visitation variables such as length of stay, places visited, activities enjoyed, and spending. These studies have been funded by offices of tourism at state and local levels, federal public land agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, and departments of transportation. She has conducted several studies in Alaska in the communities of Sitka, Valdez, and Kodiak Island. She has served on four journal editorial boards and has over 80 published journal articles. Vogt teaches undergraduate and graduate research methods courses, and an online graduate course on sustainable tourism management.