New community development opportunities through volunteer tourism

Sep 4, 2013

Passionate travelers have found a great way of combining their love for flying while, at the same time, coming together in a small effort to help change the world.

These travelers have abandoned the traditional tourism model for an authentic alternative and unique travel experience. Solidarity tourism is a response to an individual’s unquenched appetite to better the world, acting as an agent of change. These adventurers seek to right social injustices on a global scale.

In order to satisfy this niche, volunteer trips abroad have surfaced as an alternate tourism product. Travel destinations can attain self-sufficiency, developing a suitable sustainable tourism model.
Travelers participate in the intricacies of their way of life, while contribuiting to the educational, economic and social integration of the people living there.
A coalition between volunteerism and travel has given rise to a new travel trend called volunteer travel. According to a study by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), voluntourism, is growing increasingly at a pace of 20%.

Among the countries that have promoted this type of tourism product are Costa Rica, Peru, India, South Africa, Thailand and Brazil.

This new cheaper way to travel represents an exciting alternative for communities that want and need to develop their cities, as their recovery depend on the expansion of volunteer tourism.
“The economic impact of tourism is mixed with the social impact of volunteering: inbound tourism translates into helpers and helpers become beneficiaries as a result of their actions”

There are more than 146 organizations that foster the development of volunteer tourism for this segment of tourists.

Cross Cultural Solutions
A non-profit organization providing volunteer travel services for communities in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. Their aim is to address critical global issues, and contribute to the economy of these communities.
Since 1995, they have mobilized 32,195 volunteers, and made a significant difference in the lives of the communities they touch.

In addition to offering volunteer tourism programs in over 10 countries, it provides training to travelers and tour operators through webinars and events.

Real Gap
The Real Gap Experience invites travelers to expand their horizons by offering a variety of volunteer programs that range from child care, construction projects, medical volunteer, wildlife conservation, teaching English and coaching sports. With travel to seven continents, Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, Europe. North and South America.
Provide support like-minded young travelers to discover the reality of the world, making more efficient use of your time and be enriched by the experience of working abroad, adventure tourism, and airlines do internship in medicine, marketing, veterinary medicine, marine science, journalism, and physical therapy.

Viajes responsables
This platform organizes responsible travel to different parts of the world, recruiting travelers who want to be part of travel that contribute to the communities visited without altering their nature and the environment.

Many of the most important organizations to offer this service include:

We are betting on voluntourism to become an ever bigger trend for those adventure travelers who are always searching for alternative forms of travel and different ways of going on vacation.