What is volunteering and volunteer tourism? 

Volunteering is an activity/work willingly and voluntarily done for the benefit of others without expecting any financial profit. Volunteers are people offering their time, energy, and abilities to others. They can do voluntary work locally, in local communities, within their country or abroad, e.g. in some exotic country. Volunteering outside of one’s usual place of stay is also called volunteer tourism or voluntourism. 

There are three main areas where volunteering is performed: humanitarian aid, development aid, and conservation. Each of these areas can be focused either on nature and animals or on people and culture. 

Here are a few particular examples, where volunteers can work: home for the elderly, summer camps, hospitals, schools, orphanages, sports clubs or sports events, natural reservations or national parks, zoos, various festivals, construction sites, animal orphanages, communities, and much more. 

Why do people volunteer and what is their motivation?

The motives for volunteering can be egoistic or altruistic. Though altruistic motives were prevailing in the past, nowadays the egoistic ones are more common. Does it mean that people are these days worse than in the past? No. The difference is that, now, there are much more opportunities for people willing to volunteer which are attractive because of additional programs, mostly connected with traveling and experiencing adventures and other touristic activities. This change from an altruistic to an egoistic approach is also caused by the marketing and the commercialization of voluntary work. Those various hooks in volunteering programs are catching people’s attention, and their initial motive which could be helping others is supplemented or replaced with a new motive e.g. traveling to an African country and visiting Victoria Falls while doing some volunteering. Note, that this doesn’t have to be seen as something negative. 

So now, let’s have a look at some particular motives of young volunteers who were involved in volunteering programs abroad: 

1. traveling to an exotic country and spending leisure time in an unusual way 

2. exploring and feeling the authenticity of a new culture 

3. meeting people and making new friendships 

4. gaining professional experiences and skills for an advantage in the labor market 

5. gaining personal experience of living alone (independently on one’s family)

6. helping others and doing some meaningful work 

7. returning to society something that the volunteer has gained from his/her parents, teachers, or the society 

You might have noticed that five motives are egoistic and the last two are altruistic. Usually, the motivation is a combination of various motives, when some are prevailing and some are less important. As well as the order isn’t strictly set, the importance of each motive always depends on each person’s attitude.

It is important to mention that volunteer tourism isn’t meant only for young people. Actually, older people, even retired people, usually have more to offer (experience, skills, knowledge) than young people and their voluntary work can be yet more efficient. And of course, the order and the importance of particular motives might be different from young people. 

How are the young volunteers benefiting from “working for free”?

Even if volunteers don’t get paid for their work they still get something in return. Besides the good feeling of helping others they:

• learn or master their skills (foreign language, soft skills such as communication, presentation, or even some hard skills)
• have the opportunity to travel and explore a new country, culture, people, and their lifestyle 
• develop themselves in terms of setting or resetting their life values, mindsets, and finding new life/world perspectives
• create new friendships and connections with other people
• relax mentally and get inspired and encouraged in their lives

Depending on each program, volunteers can sometimes get accommodation and even food for free during their stay. In some cases they can get pocket money - volunteers can get this benefit while volunteering in some European countries rather than developing ones. 

To summarize, volunteer tourism is more commercialized than in the past, therefore people’s motives for volunteering abroad are more egoistic than altruistic. This isn’t any judgment; whether it is good or bad depends on one’s values and perspectives. Volunteering isn’t only about giving but also about receiving. Although it isn’t money, volunteers always get various values in return for their free work. Volunteer tourism isn’t only for young people, but also for older adults and retired people who are willing to offer their time, skills, or expertise to others for free. The good feeling from helping others can be considered by many as the most rewarding and encouraging benefit gained from volunteering. So, why not get involved?