Abstract
This study examines motivations and on-site experiences of volunteer tourists who participate in volunteer tourism at the Home and Life Orphanage in Phang Nga province, Thailand. An interpretive paradigm using qualitative data collection methods (semi-structured interviews, a focus group, participant observation, and diaries) was adopted. The informants included 24 volunteer tourists. The findings of the study suggest that the volunteer tourists’ motivations and on-site experiences are multidimensional. Five main themes of motivations have been identified: (a) to help the children who were affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, (b) to gain personal development and growth, (c) to gain new experiences, (d) to learn about/be immersed in local culture, and (e) to meet and make friends. In terms of the volunteer tourists’ on-site experiences, four experiential dimensions were found: (a) personal development and growth, (b) social, (c) cultural, and (d) feeling.
Introduction
Volunteer tourism is one of the fastest-growing forms of tourism (Brown & Morrison, 2003; Harlow & Pomfret, 2007; McIntosh & Zahra, 2007). The phenomenal growth in mass tourism on a global scale in the late 20th century, together with the power of the media, resulted in the emergence of volunteer tourism (Callanan & Thomas, 2005). These two factors unveiled other cultures to people, especially those from developed or Western countries, which has made them more aware of “the explicit divisions between the ‘haves’ and ‘havenots’ in the society” as well as realise the opportunity to do something more worthwhile and meaningful by giving back to society through volunteer tourism (Callanan & Thomas, 2005, p. 185).
The overall size of the global market for volunteer tourism is still unclear as no study exists that has examined the size of this sector (Mintel, 2008). Tourism Research and Marketing (TRAM, 2008) suggests that one way to estimate the size of this market is to analyze the supply of volunteer tourism opportunities. Based on its survey of more than 300 volunteer tourism organizations worldwide, TRAM estimates that there are approximately 1.6 million volunteer tourists a year, with a total expenditure between US$1.66 billion and US$2.6 billion. Mintel (2008) estimated that in 2006, the volunteer tourism market in Western Europe was valued at US$150 million. It is predicted that volunteer tourism will continue to grow in both size and value (Mintel, 2008; TRAM, 2008). A survey conducted by Lasso Communications indicates that 62% of volunteer operators expect to send more volunteer tourists abroad in 2009 than they did in 2008 (Nestora, Yeung, & Calderon, 2009). The evidence of growth in volunteer tourism is also reflected in the increased number of website hits (Wearing & McGehee, 2013). According to the VolunTourism website (VolunTourism.org, 2008), a Google search of the words “volunteer tourism” on April 17, 2012 returned 4,850,000 hits, which is 21 times the number showing on April 17, 2008 (4 year earlier), of 230,000 hits.
Additionally, the growth in volunteer tourism is also evidenced by the growing number of volunteer tourism programs offered (Tomazos & Butler, 2009). Callanan and Thomas (2005) explored the scale of volunteer tourism in 2003 by using the GoAbroad.com website and found 698 volunteer tourism programs available worldwide. Tomazos and Butler (2009), who studied the growth in volunteer tourism by building on Callanan and Thomas’s study using the same database, found that by 2007 the number of volunteer tourism programs had risen dramatically to 2,446, around 3.5 times higher than in 2003.
Despite the rapid growth of volunteer tourism, studies of volunteer tourism are limited. In addition, most of the research to date has been fragmented by centring solely on either the aspect of volunteer tourists (on their motivations and/or experiences; e.g., Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Carter, 2008; Harlow & Pomfret.2007; Lepp, 2009; Lo & Lee, 2011; Sin, 2009) or the attitudes of the local communities (McGehee & Andereck, 2009; Sin, 2010). By realizing that both volunteer tourists and local communities are key players in the volunteer tourism sector and understanding that the perspectives of both groups are significant for the successful development of volunteer tourism, this study looks at the perspectives of both volunteer tourists and local residents. Specifically, it focuses on the motivations and on-site experiences of volunteer tourists and the attitudes of local residents toward them in the context of orphan volunteer tourism in Thailand.
Volunteer tourism is a relatively new form of tourism in Thailand. Its name appeared in the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) marketing strategy for the European region for the first time in its 2011 plan (TAT, 2010) as a potential target market for Thailand’s tourism industry. At the time of writing this article, there was no evidence on when international volunteer tourism was first introduced in Thailand. Additionally, there was also a lack of data on the number of international volunteer tourists arriving in the country.
Sources, such as the Asian Development Bank (2005), the United Nations Thailand (2008a), the United Nations Environment Programme (2005), and van der Meer (2007), have similarly pointed out that volunteer tourism in Thailand experienced phenomenal growth in 2005 because of the response to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that hit six provinces along the Western coast of the Southern region of Thailand and drew a number of volunteers from across the world to tsunami-affected areas. Similarly, the study of Tomazos and Butler (2009), which examined the growth in volunteer tourism in many countries, also indicated that the number of volunteer tourism programs in Thailand increased significantly from only three in 2003 to 138 in 2005 as a result of the response to the Boxing Day tsunami.
Although the tsunami basic disaster recovery program, such as searching for bodies, evacuating survivors, and reconstructing housing for local people, was largely completed 1 year after the tsunami, as many as 181 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) decided to continuously supply international volunteers to tsunami-affected areas and offer packaging programs for them (van der Meer, 2007). These volunteer activities during the post-tsunami period were extended beyond providing tsunami relief and included working as English teachers, art instructors, and taking care of orphaned children at orphanages (van der Meer, 2007).
Taking care of orphaned children is one of the most popular volunteer tourism activities in Thailand. According to the United Nations Thailand (2008b), the aftermath of the tsunami left 1,480 children without one or both of their parents or an immediate guardian. This large number of orphaned children resulted in an opportunity for NGOs and tourism operators to offer volunteer tourism programs by creating and presenting a perception of Thailand as a tsunami-affected country and a developing country where countless orphans are in need.
Literature Review
Volunteer Tourism
Wearing (2001), whose definition of volunteer tourism is the most quoted, defines it thus [T]hose tourists who, for various reasons, volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments or research into aspects of society or the environment. (p. 1)
Volunteer tourism is considered to be a tourism activity because it involves the temporary movement of individuals from their usual places of work or residence to other destinations during their free time and with their willingness. However, volunteer tourism differs from other types of tourism in that it involves volunteering at the destinations visited.
Volunteer tourism is often perceived to be a practice of people from developed or Western nations, who are generally more wealthy and have better skills and knowledge, traveling to provide assistance to people in developing countries who are less fortunate (Corti, Marola, & Castro, 2010; Richter & Norman, 2010; Simpson, 2005; Sin, 2009). This is because their privileges are believed to be gained at the expense of the latter (Sin, 2010).
Orphan Volunteer Tourism
The term orphan volunteer tourism has been coined by the author to describe a form of short-term volunteer tourism that is undertaken at an orphanage and encourages international volunteer tourists to engage in caregiving activities for orphaned children. This definition is based on the definition of “AIDS orphan tourism” given by Richter and Norman (2010), pioneers in the study of this specific area of volunteer tourism. They referred to AIDS orphan tourism as a form of volunteer tourism characterised by short-term travel to facilities to engage in everyday care-giving for “AIDS orphans” or children who have lost either one or both parents as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. (p. 222)
People have been bombarded with images presented by the international media, NGOs, and tourism operators showing that some parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa and Cambodia, are facing problems. For example, people are shown images of a large number of people living and dying with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and the problem of instability, corruption, and genocide in Cambodia, causing countless children to be orphaned and abandoned and in need of care (Guiney, 2012; Richter & Norman, 2010). Such images, together with the popularity of volunteer tourism, have drawn attention and encouraged people in the Western world to take action to provide care for these unfortunate children (Richter & Norman, 2010).
NGOs, tourism operators, and orphanages see providing volunteer tourism programs for short-term volunteer tourists at orphanages as a new way of doing business (Carmichael, 2011; Guiney, 2012; Richter & Norman, 2010). They generally advertise the extreme need of orphanages and the vulnerable and desperate children who reside there, and encourage people to help these children by participating in volunteer tourism programs to fulfill the role of caregivers (Richter & Norman, 2010). Volunteer tourists are also encouraged to believe that the experience they would get from this tourism activity would be rewarding and life changing (Pitrelli, 2012).
Arguably, orphan volunteer tourism provides both positive and negative impacts; however, its negative impacts have become issues of concern and have received much more interest from authors, researchers, and organizations. In terms of positive impacts, the study by Guiney (2012) indicates that orphan volunteer tourism provides a number of benefits to the orphanage, as well as the children. Examples of these benefits include a significant financial gain for the operation of the orphanage, educational opportunities for the children, especially in terms of English language, and the volunteer tourists being seen as role models for different career options for the children.
In terms of negative impacts, orphan volunteer tourism could be seen as exploiting the children for the purpose of business (Carmichael, 2011; Papi, 2012). A number of media coverage has been focused on this issue. For example, Papi (2012), who wrote an article titled “Why You Should Say No to Orphanage Tourism (And Tell All Tour Companies to Do the Same)” in The Huffington Post, calls this type of business “pet-an orphan,” referring to a type of business making profit from the lives of children by encouraging volunteer tourists with good intentions to visit the orphanage and “help” the children, without any idea that they are unintentionally encouraging the separation of children and parents, keeping these children out of school to entertain the tourists. Similarly, Carmichael (2011) also points out in his article “Cambodia’s Orphanages Target the Wallets of Well-meaning Tourists” in The Independent that some orphanages in Cambodia look for poor families and entice parents to send their children to live at the orphanages, with the promise that these children will have better lives and education, and, in some cases, parents will make money from deciding to send their children to the orphanage. Additionally, Pitrelli (2012) shows his concerns in his article “Orphanage Tourism: Help or Hindrance?” in The Telegraph that some children at the orphanage are also suffering sexual abuse, either at the hands of tourists or the directors of the orphanage.
Moreover, the emotional and psychological health of very young children is another major concern regarding volunteer tourism. According to Richter and Norman (2010), young children who reside at the orphanages are likely to have already experienced difficult situations, and with orphan volunteer tourism taking place at the orphanage where they live, they have to face the on-going formation and dissolution of attachment bonds with different volunteer tourists, which is likely to have an impact on their sociopsychological development and long-term well-being.
Volunteer Tourists’ Motivations
The existing literature agrees that the motivations of volunteer tourists are multidimensional (e.g., Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Carter, 2008; Sin, 2009; Wearing, 2001) and generally consist of two dimensions, namely self-interest and altruistic motivations, which are interconnected and have blurred boundaries (e.g., Mustonen, 2007; Stebbins, 1992, 2004; Wearing, 2001). Self-interest is a broad term covering many aspects of motivations that revolve around the self-benefits of volunteer tourists, whereas altruistic motivation involves other benefits.
Self-interest motivations that have been reported in the existing literature can be grouped into 11 themes which are (a) to be immersed in/exchange with/learn about local culture (Brown, 2005; Chen & Chen, 2011; Lo & Lee, 2011; Sin, 2009; Wearing, 2001); (b) to interact, and develop relationships, with local residents (Chen & Chen, 2011; Lo & Lee, 2011; Sin, 2009); (c) to discover themselves (Chen & Chen, 2011; Galley & Clifton, 2004; Sin, 2009); (d) to increase knowledge and skills (Chen & Chen, 2011; Galley & Clifton, 2004; Sin, 2009); (e) to enhance academic/career prospects (Carter, 2008; Corti et al., 2010; Galley & Clifton, 2004; Simpson, 2005; Wearing, 2001); (f) to meet and share experiences with other volunteer tourists (Brown, 2005; Carter, 2008; Wearing, 2001); (g) for practical reasons (Chen & Chen, 2011; Sin, 2009; Söderman & Snead, 2008); (h) to escape from a mundane environment (Lo & Lee, 2011); (i) to gain new experiences (Carter, 2008; Chen & Chen, 2011; Galley & Clifton, 2004; Sin, 2009; van der Meer, 2007; Wearing, 2001); (j) to enhance relationships with family members (Brown, 2005; Chen & Chen, 2011; Lo & Lee, 2011); and (k) religious-related motivations (Lo & Lee, 2011; Taillon & Jamal, 2009).
As for altruistic motivation, it has been illustrated in many ways and performed in a variety of forms. Terms such as “giving back” (Brown, 2005), “making a difference” (Brown, 2005; Lo & Lee, 2011), “saving the world” (Wearing, 2001), “showing love and care” (Lo & Lee, 2011); “helping others” (Carter, 2008; Chen & Chen, 2011; van der Meer, 2007; Wearing, 2001), “contributing” (Sin, 2009), and “doing something meaningful” (Lo & Lee, 2011) are largely used to represent altruistic motivation.
Most researchers (e.g., Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Carter, 2008; Chen & Chen, 2011; Sin, 2009; Wearing, 2001) have argued that altruism is not the strongest motivation of volunteer tourists. To be more specific, it comes after self-interest motivations. At the time of writing this article, the study of van der Meer (2007) was the only one to argue that altruism is the most important motivation of volunteer tourists.
In addition to examining the volunteer tourists’ motivations in relation to altruistic and self-interested reasons, this topic has also been studied by using Crompton’s (1979) push/pull framework (see, e.g., Anthony & Rosenbaum, 2012; Brown & Lehto, 2005; Correia, Silva, & Moço, 2008; Grimm & Needham, 2012; Li, Zhang, & Cai, 2013). Push motivations for taking a volunteer vacation consist of both altruistic (e.g., to help) and self-interested reasons (e.g., to gain new experiences; to make new friends), whereas the pull motivations involve the attributes of specific countries, continents, projects or organizations that attract the volunteer tourists (Grimm & Needham, 2012). Grimm & Needham (2012) argue that previous studies have paid more attention to push factors than pull factors. Wearing (2004) points out that both push and pull factors serve as significant motivations for volunteer tourists, saying that The internal push motives of discovery, enlightenment and personal growth are important to volunteer tourists but features of a destination are more than simply pull motives to this group, for volunteer tourists see physical locations in developing countries as motivations in themselves . . . (p. 217)
Agreeing with this, Coghlan (2007) states that volunteer tourists are strongly influenced by images of destinations portrayed in promotional materials. Moreover, Wearing (2004) also argues that, due to the psychographic characteristics of volunteer tourists, pull factors may be ranked higher for volunteer tourists than mainstream tourists. However, these arguments may be challenged by some researchers, who studied volunteer tourists’ motivations and found that the volunteer tourists are mainly motivated by push factors. For example, Brown (2005) argues that four main motivations of the volunteer tourists (cultural immersion; making a difference; seeking camaraderie; and family bonding) are all push factors. Similarly, Benson & Seibert (2009) found that amongst the five most important motivations of German volunteer tourists (to experience something different or new; to meet African people; to learn about another country and culture; to live in another country; and to broaden one’s mind), four are push factors.
Volunteer Tourists’ On-Site Experiences
The existing literature (e.g., Wearing, 2001; Broad, 2003; Harlow & Pomfret, 2007; Jones, 2005; Lo & Lee, 2011; McIntosh & Zahra, 2007; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007) has similarly argued that experiences gained by volunteer tourists are diverse. A review of the existing literature suggests four main dimensions of volunteer tourism experiences: (a) self-related, (b) social, (c) local cultural, and (d) feeling.
Volunteer tourists’ self-related dimension involves their personal development and self-reflection. This dimension encompasses a number of aspects, including the development of “soft skills” (e.g., self-confidence, social skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills; Jones, 2005); an opportunity for self-reflection and self-evaluation (Broad, 2003; McIntosh & Zahra, 2007; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007); the transformation of their values and perceptions about their lives and the world (Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Lo & Lee, 2011; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007); gaining insight into future careers (Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Lo & Lee, 2011); gaining global perspectives (Jones, 2005; McGehee & Santos, 2005); and gaining a sense of global citizenship (Barbieri, Santos, & Katsube, 2012; Jones, 2005; McGehee & Santos, 2005; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007). These personal benefits support the argument made by Matthews (2008, p.111) who suggest that volunteer tourism is not just about “doing good for others” but also about “doing good for self.”
However, regarding the issue of gaining global perspective, Simpson (2005) has a contrasting view. According to Simpson’s study on volunteer tourism experience of gap year students, she argues that such volunteer tourism experiences emphasize the great differences and inequality between the volunteer tourists and the local people, which in turn reinforces the notion of “them” and “us.” This is because the gap year-volunteer projects create a “geography” of the world where there are simplistic boundaries between the developed countries and developing countries.
The social dimension of volunteer tourism experiences involves engaging interactions and long-lasting friendships between volunteer tourists and local people and among volunteer tourists (Brown, 2005; Lo & Lee, 2011; McGehee & Santos, 2005; McIntosh & Zahra, 2007). In addition, Brown (2005) and Lo & Lee (2011) similarly argued that this dimension also includes enhancing relationships among family members who participate in volunteer tourism vacations together, such as spouses, parents, and children.
As for the local cultural dimension, the existing literature (Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Jones, 2005; McIntosh & Zahra, 2007; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007) has similarly reported that volunteer tourism experiences promote cross-cultural exchanges and understanding between volunteer tourists and host communities. This is because volunteer tourists have an opportunity to immerse themselves in host communities, which allows them to have direct and interactive encounters with local people (Broad, 2003; Jones, 2005, McIntosh & Zahra, 2007). In this way, volunteer tourists are able to experience the authentic lifestyles of local residents, allowing them to go beyond the “gazing” of “superficial interactions” (McIntosh & Zahra, 2007, p. 547).
Finally, in terms of the feeling dimension, previous studies (Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Harlow & Pomfret, 2007; Lepp, 2009; Lo & Lee, 2011; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007) have shown that volunteer tourists are generally satisfied with their experiences. However, some have negative feelings toward their experiences. The positive feelings of volunteer tourists are based on a variety of factors, such as the interesting nature of volunteering activities (Gray & Campbell, 2007; Harlow & Pomfret, 2007; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007), having an opportunity to meet and interact with like-minded people (Brown, 2005), being ambassadors for their own countries (Brown, 2005), performing altruistic/worthwhile acts (Gray & Campbell, 2007; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007) and gaining new knowledge (Harlow & Pomfret, 2007).
However, according to Gray and Campbell’s (2007) study, negative aspects include feeling unneeded or being used, struggling with the language barrier, physical hardship (e.g., insects, lack of sleep, physical exertion), and a lack of activities and amenities. The nature of volunteer tasks, which are normally perceived as involving hard work and being boring and repetitive, has also been found to be one of the main factors causing volunteer tourists’ negative feelings (Harlow & Pomfret, 2007; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007). Moreover, witnessing and encountering suffering and hardship among local people in host countries, such as poverty, can also lead to negative feelings (Zahra & McIntosh, 2007).
Research Method
Research Design
This study employed an interpretive paradigm and used qualitative research methods because its primary aim was to gain a rich and in-depth understanding of volunteer tourists’ motivations and on-site experiences.This study adopted a case study approach. The rationale for employing this approach lies in its ability to facilitate the researcher to gain a holistic, rich, and in-depth understanding of the issues under investigation. Through the use of a case study, the researcher was able to delve into the issues in great detail, and to discover how the many parts of the phenomenon affect one another (Denscombe, 2007). When using a case study approach, there are considerations that must be taken into account regarding the design and the selection of the case. These questions concern the choice between intrinsic, instrumental, or collective case studies.
This study employed an intrinsic case study, because the volunteer tourism program at the Home and Life Orphanage is interesting in its own right. The context of this case is unique in many ways. First, the orphanage was established as a response to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami; there are still a lot of people in the tsunami-affected areas who need assistance from volunteer tourists, and therefore the researcher believes that studying volunteer tourism in an area where it plays an important role in the lives of the local community will provide more valuable insights about this phenomenon than researching elsewhere. Second, it operates in a family atmosphere, where only limited numbers of volunteer tourists are allowed in order to preserve this atmosphere. Third, this orphanage is located in a remote area, and therefore this case was believed to provide an understanding of the phenomenon of volunteer tourism that takes place in a nontouristic destination setting.
Before undertaking the main fieldwork, a pilot study was conducted for a 3-week period between June 4 and 24, 2011 at the Home and Life Orphanage. The data were collected from six volunteer tourists. The pilot study proved to be a very significant stage during the study process. First, the pilot study suggested that some criteria for selecting the respondents needed to be revised. According to the reservation details, almost 40% of the volunteer tourists had applied to join the volunteer tourism program at the orphanage for only 1 week. Therefore, the original criterion concerning the volunteer tourists’ length of stay was shortened from 2 weeks to 1 week in order to cover the 1-week-stay volunteer tourists. Second, as a consequence of the pilot study, the original interview guides were revised for the main study, as they did not produce rich enough description. For example, the questions concerning the volunteer tourists’ reasons for choosing to volunteer in Thailand, at the orphanage, and at Thai Muang subdistrict were added because it was clear from most of the volunteer tourists during the pilot study that the specific contexts of Thailand, of an orphanage, and of Thai Muang subdistrict were part of their motivations to participate in volunteer tourism.
The study drew data from 24 volunteer tourists who were on a working vacation at the Home and Life Orphanage, Phang Nga province, Thailand, between July 1 and September 30, 2011. They were selected by purposive sampling. The criteria for selection included the following: (a) the subjects must be international tourists, (b) must be 18 years or older for ethical reasons, (c) must be spending part of their holiday volunteering at the orphanage for at least 1 week, and (d) must be able to communicate in English for the convenience of data collection. As a result, 24 volunteer tourists were selected. This number was defined by the saturation point of the data, that is, when there was no new theme emerging from the data. Lawton & Weaver’s (2009) study is one of the relevant works using small sample size based on grounded theory.
This study employed a multimethod qualitative approach to gather the data. This approach not only appropriated in exploring the “what,” “how,” and, most significantly, “why” questions of the issues being studied, but it also permits the researcher to use a triangulation strategy. Specifically, semi-structured interviews and a focus group were carried out to collect data on volunteer tourists’ motivations, whereas additional techniques such as diaries and participant observations were used to collect data on their on-site experiences. All interviews were video-recorded on gaining consent from respondents. All respondents were ensured of the anonymity and confidentiality of their information by the use of pseudonyms in any written and/or oral presentation. Each interview lasted between 40 and 90 minutes and was transcribed manually by the researcher herself later. Although this was time-consuming, it was worthwhile, because the researcher became familiar with the data.
For participant observation, the researcher observed the behavior of, and the activities performed by the volunteer tourists. This was conducted in the form of “participant as observer” as categorized by Junker (1960), in which the respondents are aware of the researcher’s identity and the researcher has regular interactions with the respondents. The researcher stayed at the orphanage for the whole period of the main fieldwork. She did not take a role as a volunteer tourist fully, because the volunteer tourists were aware of her identity as a researcher and she wanted to preserve the naturalness of the setting. However, she did some volunteer work that could not be done by the volunteer tourists, such as helping children with homework in certain subjects, and translating Thai documents into English. This was done in the hope that the volunteer tourists would feel that the researcher was in the same team. This technique proved useful, because, through working and living with the volunteer tourists, the researcher developed a rapport with them, which facilitated a relaxed and open environment for the interviews. Moreover, having informal conversations with volunteer tourists helped the researcher to gain additional information not shared in interviews. The volunteer tourists were also given a diary in which they were asked to write down their experiences each day throughout their stay. These were returned to the researcher on the last day before leaving.
The data analysis was conducted during the data collection and continued after the data collection was completed. Although computer software qualitative data packages like Nvivo are available, the researcher chose to analyze the data manually because this allowed her to immerse herself in the data. The data gathered from different techniques were cross-checked. The study not only sought convergence but also differences or contradictions that occurred within the data. The data analysis process followed six phases of thematic analysis, as introduced by Braun and Clarke (2006): (a) becoming familiar with the data, (b) generating initial codes, (c) searching for themes, (d) reviewing themes, (e) defining and naming themes, and (f) producing the report.
To briefly explain the data analysis process, the researcher repeatedly read the data and searched for meaning and patterns; she took notes and marked for ideas for initial coding. A number of codes such as “response to the tsunami,” “feeling guilty,” “gaining teaching experience,” and “being more confident” were generated by matching the codes with data extracts demonstrating those codes; the relevant data extracts were collated together within each code. Then, all the identified codes were reviewed and sorted into potential themes—the relevant data extracts were collated to each potential theme. All the collated data extracts for each theme were read, to consider whether they formed coherent patterns. Next, the researcher created a candidate thematic map and considered whether it is accurately represented the meaning of the data as a whole. The researcher then identified the essence of each theme, or what “story” it tells, and generated subthemes and sub-subthemes to give structure to a larger theme. The collated data extracts for each theme were organized to form an account or story that reflects that particular theme.
Study Site
The study was undertaken at the Home and Life Orphanage in the Thai Muang subdistrict, Phang Nga province, Thailand. Thai Muang subdistrict is a small district of 68.46 square kilometers. It is approximately 800 kilometers south of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. It lies on the western coast of the southern Thailand peninsula. The Home and Life Orphanage was established in January 2005, in the form of a small project to provide relief for children affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. On December 26, 2006, the orphanage was registered officially in the form of a foundation under Thai law. In mid-2009, it was proposed by Andaman Discoveries, a volunteer organization based in Phang Nga, that they work with the orphanage to provide a volunteer tourism program at the orphanage. Andaman Discoveries works as an agent, promoting and recruiting volunteer tourists for the orphanage. At the time of conducting the study, it offered placements for a maximum of 26 children under the care of 5 adults and 1 housekeeper. The children’s age ranged from 5 to 18 years (Home and Life Orphanage Phang Nga Foundation, 2012).
Although the orphanage is located in Phang Nga province, one of the most famous tourist destinations in Thailand, it is situated in a remote area of this province where there are very few attractive tourist sites or facilities for tourists. This is one of the main reasons that the researcher decided to choose this place as the study site, as it can provide an understanding of the phenomenon of volunteer tourism that takes place in a nontouristic destination setting.
To maintain a family atmosphere, and concerned with the capacity of the orphanage in accommodating the volunteer tourists, the number of volunteer tourists was limited to a maximum of six people at a time, because it has only two rooms for the volunteer tourists, each of which can accommodate up to three persons. The majority of the volunteer tourists apply for the volunteer tourism program through agencies: The main agencies were Andaman Discoveries, based in Phang Nga province, and Personal Overseas Development, based in the United Kingdom. There are also a few volunteer tourists who applied directly to the orphanage. The price per person ranges from approximately 6000 to 11,900 Thai Baht (around £120-£238) per week, depending on the duration of the stay (the longer they stay, the cheaper the price per week is). These prices include accommodation (at the orphanage), all meals, donations to the orphanage, and support from the staff members of the orphanage.
The opportunity for volunteer tourism is available all year round. The volunteer tourists in this study participated in the volunteer tourism program for around 1 to 2 weeks. Their main activity is to take care of the children. This covers a number of activities such as helping the children to take a bath, playing with them, teaching them English, and helping them with English homework. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the volunteer tourists also teach English at the local primary school that the children attend. For the other weekdays, they help the staff members of the orphanage do housework and other chores such as laundry, cleaning, gardening, and cooking. Volunteer tourists are required to work a minimum of 6 hours a day and 5 days a week for the orphanage and are free during the weekends. The orphanage also offers sightseeing trips for them to visit nearby tourist attractions such as beaches and waterfalls or to go shopping, for which they have to pay for the petrol.
Profile of Respondents
The volunteer tourists were predominantly women (20 out of 24 people). Their ages ranged from 18 to 43 years. Sixteen of them were recent university graduates who were taking a break before starting their careers, while the other two were a teacher and an outdoor instructor trainee who was also studying for a master’s degree. The rest consisted of one high school student, two university students, one engineer who had a background in vocational education, and two who had finished secondary school and worked for some time before taking a career break. The majority (16) of volunteer respondents were from the United Kingdom. The rest included two Australians, three New Zealanders, two Portuguese, and one Dutch.
Findings
Volunteer Tourists’ Motivations
Five main themes were identified, namely (a) to help the children, (b) to gain personal development and growth, (c) to gain new experiences, (d) to learn about/be immersed in the local culture, and (e) to meet and make friends. Each of these motivations is discussed below.
A Desire to Help the Children
This motivation is the most prominent motivational factor and was cited by every volunteer tourist as one of their main motivations. Common expressions among the volunteer respondents demonstrating this motivation include “to help out,” “to do something worthwhile for the children,” “to make myself useful for the children,” and “to make the lives of the children better.”
When probed further, five main factors were identified: (a) having heard about the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand, (b) realizing that they were more fortunate or wealthier than the children, (c) wishing to reduce the feeling of being selfish, (d) believing that it is a good thing to do, and (e) having personal interests in children.
A Desire for Personal Growth
Volunteer tourists were also motivated by the desire for practicing and testing their skills, acquiring the required experience before entering into working life, and trying out a new career without making a long-term commitment. The following statement demonstrates these points: [I am here] because of the job I’m going into when I go home. I want to teach children at the primary or secondary school, so for me this was definitely to see how it is like to teach, how good I am at teaching. I think I also want to see how my teaching affects others, so see how I can improve (V18).
For many volunteer respondents, participating in volunteer tourism was also a means to “prove” or verify that they can actually do something they were afraid to do before, such as teaching English to non-English-speaking children. Moreover, for some volunteer respondents, the volunteer tourism experience also served as a key addition to their curriculum vitae in order to demonstrate to prospective employers or universities that they had acquired certain qualifications.
A Desire to Gain New Experiences
Many volunteer tourists decided to participate in volunteer tourism in Thailand because they wanted to have different experiences in another country that is far away and different from their own countries in terms of culture and physical geography. For example, V07 said, “I just want to have that different experience, a bit of contrast from what it is like in England.”
For some volunteer tourists, this was the first time they had taken a volunteer tourism vacation at all, which they had longed to do for a long time. For example, V02 stated that for her this experience served as a new experience as well as an experiment so that she would know how she felt about volunteer work.
A Desire to Learn/Be Immersed in the Local Culture
Some volunteer tourists stated that they wanted to engage in volunteer tourism because they wanted to gain a better understanding or immerse themselves in the local culture. This motivation is illustrated by the following statement: I think it is about [trying] to see how the rest of the world lives, especially in a country like Thailand . . . I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that if we didn’t do volunteer work, we would not have been able to learn and experience how Thai people live. For me, I’m sure I haven’t got a full [grasp of the] reality of what it’s like but without volunteering. (V20, focus group)
The above statements suggest that for some volunteer tourists such as V20, volunteer tourism serves as an effective means of experiencing and learning about the local culture from the “inside” rather than merely looking from the “outside.” This helps them see the “actual” ways of life of local people, which they could not gain from a leisure tourism experience.
A Desire to Meet and Make Friends
A desire to meet and make friends was the least cited motivation to taking a volunteer tourism vacation. Volunteer tourists believed that such tourism brings together people from all walks of life, whether they are volunteer tourists or local people; therefore, it provides a platform for them to meet, interact, learn, and exchange views with other people.
Volunteer Tourists’ On-Site Experiences
Based on the data analysis, four main dimensions of the volunteer tourists’ on-site experiences were generated as follows: (a) personal development and growth, (b) social, (c) cultural, and (d) feeling.
Personal Development and Growth Dimension
This dimension encompasses six main aspects. First, a number of soft skills were cited as the benefits gained through volunteer tourism experiences, such as self-confidence, being adaptable to different situations, improved interpersonal skills, greater patience, and being more active. Among these, the most cited soft skill is self-confidence, which mainly resulted from the fact that volunteer respondents had to encounter challenging and unfamiliar situations alone.
Second, volunteer tourists also revealed that these experiences allowed them to reflect on and evaluate their own “selves.” Some volunteer tourists reported that they have discovered potential that they have never realized before, as exemplified by V20: In the uni[versity] and college, I was terrified of talking in front of big groups of people . . . I’ve definitely discovered that I can actually speak in front of the class and teach English to the children, and never, ever in a million years thought that I could.
Third, volunteer tourism experiences were also found to affect the direction of volunteer respondents’ future careers. Seven respondents said that they wanted to be a teacher and that during participating in volunteer tourism that they had realized they liked teaching children and had the potential to do it.
Next, volunteer tourists also claimed that being firsthand witnesses of the differences between their own lives and the lives of the children at the orphanage made them learn and more aware of new things. This consequently facilitated the transformation of some of their values and perceptions. As V23 said, The lives of the kids here made me realize that you can live simply and be so happy over this simple thing . . . It is so materialistic and the kids there have so much and yet they have no appreciation of it.
Next, volunteer tourism experiences also promoted a sense of global perspective for many respondents. To be more specific, volunteer respondents developed links between their own lives and those of local people through these experiences. Some even revealed that seeing the many people in the Thai Muang subdistrict suffering from poverty not only made them realize the differences between the lives of Western people and those of local people but also made them aware of the problem of poverty in their own countries.
Finally, volunteer tourism experiences also developed a sense of global citizenship for volunteer respondents. Some participants said that the experience had made them aware of their own opportunities and potential to help others, as said by V04: Just seeing the kids here, and see[ing] how our money, our effort and our skills can help them . . . I want to do more, I’m quite sure that I’m really going to volunteer again in the future.
Social Dimension
Volunteer tourists reported that they had met and developed relationships with other people during their volunteer tourism vacations, including (a) local people, (b) fellow volunteer tourists, and (c) the people they came with.
First, in terms of relationships with local people, all volunteer respondents stated that they had established a bond with the children at the orphanage, as illustrated by V16 that, “I’ve gotten [sic] attached to the kids . . . I think it’s going to be quite sad when I leave them.” Such a bond was based on four main factors: volunteer respondents’ personal interests in and positive feelings toward the children, the time they had spent mostly with each other, the confidence of the children to interact with volunteer tourists, and the children’s positive attitudes toward them.
For the relationship between volunteer tourists and local people, all volunteer tourists said that they had established good relationships with the orphanage’s staff members and some teachers, especially those who could speak English. This relationship was based mainly on their impressions of the dedication and performance of the orphanage’s staff members in taking care of the children and the friendliness of the orphanage’s staff and the teachers at the school.
As for the relationships with fellow volunteer tourists, many respondents revealed they had formed good relationships even though they had spent only 1 or 2 weeks together. These good relationships had formed on account of the fact that they spent their lives together in a different situation to their normal lives, especially in a foreign country, which considerably helped them quickly develop a sense of “being on the same team.”
The majority of volunteer tourists were taking a volunteer tourism vacation with their boyfriends or girlfriends, friends, or spouses. All revealed that the volunteer tourism experience had helped strengthen their relationships, because it had made them become closer to one another, since they had to spend all their time and shared similar experiences in challenging and unfamiliar situations. As V29 said, “Because you are thrown into a situation that you are unfamiliar with so you go through the same thing at the same time and share relations and support each other.”
Cultural Dimension
The notion of gaining an “actual” insight into Thai culture and the ways of life of Thai people was overwhelmingly mentioned by all volunteer tourists. They stated that this cultural dimension was the result of two main factors: (a) the fact that they had lived in the orphanage, which allowed them to have an opportunity to have intense, direct, and engaging observations and interactions with local people and (b) the differences between them and the other tourists.
Volunteer tourists believed that they were different to the other tourists because they viewed local people’s lives and resources in the destination as meaningful and interesting as well as part of their learning process. The notion is illustrated by V19 as follows: I think if people were to come on a volunteering kind of holiday rather than a “touristy” [sic] holiday, their behavior and perspectives would be different. Some people just come thinking it’s a place they can just get drunk and be in the sun, while some people see that this is the place where people live and this is food they eat. These all have [ . . . ] meaning and are interesting to learn from.
Volunteer respondents also believed that local residents similarly viewed them as being different to leisure tourists. They said that when they were leisure tourists, local people saw them as sources of money and treated them as “customers,” whereas the Thai people at the orphanage, on the contrary, genuinely welcomed them, treated them as “guests” or “family members,” and were more willing to share their culture with them.
Additionally, volunteer respondents mentioned that they had learned about Thai culture more from the children than from the adults, because the adults seemed to be considerate and afraid that they would offend when explaining the right manners in Thai culture. By contrast, the children thought little about those matters and were straightforward when telling them about what they should or should not do.
Feeling Dimension
Overall, all volunteer respondents were greatly satisfied with their volunteer tourism experiences at the Home and Life Orphanage; however, many also expressed some concerns and negative feelings. Six main factors are identified as influencing volunteer respondents’ positive feelings: (a) the characteristics and performance of the orphanage’s staff members (e.g., their friendliness and helpfulness, their dedication to helping the children at the orphanage, and their performance in looking after the children); (b) the characteristics of the children at the orphanage who were very grateful for everything they received and had a lot of love to give to others; (c) the bedrooms and food that the orphanage provided were much better than they had expected; (d) the operation of the orphanage, which made them feel that they were part of a big family rather than a place where orphan children were gathered together; (e) volunteer tourists’ own altruistic practices, which made them feel that they had done something good for other people; and (f) the benefits they gained from the volunteer tourism program.
As for negative feelings, five main factors are identified as being the causes of such feelings: (a) an established bond with the children at the orphanage, which caused sadness when they had to leave; (b) being underutilized/helpless/unneeded because there was no or few activities for volunteer tourists to do (this included the feeling that the orphanage is a complete family that does not actually need help from them as well as the language barrier); (c) they had no idea about what they were expected to do at the orphanage; (d) the percentage of their fees deducted by the agencies; and (e) a mismatch of information between the agencies they applied through and orphanage staff, mainly related to their working hours and holidays, which resulted from a lack of communication between the agencies and orphanage.
Discussion
In terms of volunteer tourists’ motivations, the findings of this study concur with those of several other studies (e.g., Broad, 2003; Brown, 2005; Carter, 2008; Lo & Lee, 2011; Sin, 2009; Wearing, 2001), which argue that the motivations of volunteer tourists are multidimensional. However, a significant difference in the findings is the weighting of the motivations, with the desire to help others in need being far stronger in this case than motivations oriented toward self-interest, which are acknowledged as the strongest motivation in many other volunteer tourist studies. This study also found the relation between the volunteer tourists’ motivations and a natural disaster that occurred in a host destination. Specifically, the study found that a desire to help the children, which is the most dominant motivational factor, was strongly influenced by the volunteer tourists’ knowledge of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. This factor also played an important role in the selection of a place where the volunteer tourists believed that their contribution could be the most meaningful and rewarding.
This research also shares the findings of several other studies that claim that both altruism and self-interest play an important role in driving volunteer tourists to engage in volunteer tourism, and these two dimensions are closely interconnected and there is a blurred boundary between them (e.g., Mustonen, 2007; Stebbins, 1992, 2004; Wearing, 2001).
The blurred boundary between altruistic and self-interested motivations may challenge Batson’s (1991) concept of altruism versus egoism. Batson stated that these two groups of motivations lie on opposite end of the continuum and in order to justify whether the motivation is altruistic or egoistic, the ultimate goal of one’s motivation is used: If the ultimate goal of an individual is the welfare of others, his or her motivation is considered altruistic. On the other hand, if the ultimate goal of one’s motivation is to increase one’s own welfare, then the motivation is considered egoistic. According to Batson, these two ultimate goals cannot direct the motivations at the same time.
However, all of the volunteer tourists in this study seemed to find it difficult to identify whether their ultimate goal or desire was for the welfare of the children or for their own benefit. In their view, it could be both: They wanted to make the lives of the children better, and at the same time, they hoped that they could also benefit from their contribution. In this case, their motivations cannot be considered pure altruism based on Batson’s altruism concept because the volunteer tourists’ self-benefits are also part of their ultimate goal.
This finding also challenges the perspective of the advocates of universal egoism’s concepts (e.g., Dovidio, Piliavin, Schroeder, & Penner, 2006; Duffy, 2001; Munt, 1994a), who argue that motivations for helping are all in fact some form of self-serving motivations. In contrast, the findings of this study suggest that the volunteer tourists’ motivations do not primarily or solely aim at their own benefits, but the need to help or increase the welfare of the children evidently plays an important role in driving them to engage in volunteer tourism. This study concludes that the motivations of the volunteer tourists consist of multiple layers of ultimate goals in which the needs for the welfare of others and one’s own welfare are both present.
In terms of volunteer tourists’ on-site experiences, the findings of this study challenge the notion of the tourist experience as being opposed to the routine of everyday life and work, as suggested by some scholars. For example, Cohen (1979, p. 181) argues that “tourism is essentially a temporary reversal of everyday activities—it is a no-work, no-care, no-thrift situation”; and MacCannell (1973; p. 159), who states that “authentic experiences are believed to be available only to those moderns who try to break the bonds of their everyday experiences.” In contrast, this study found that there was a link between volunteer tourism experiences and the volunteer tourists’ future occupations. The majority of the volunteer tourists said that they wanted to become teachers and they viewed volunteer tourism experience as a training ground for gaining teaching experience. This finding supports the argument made by Munt (1994b), who states that the boundary between occupational professionalism and tourism experiences is beginning to blur.
Additionally, the findings of this study support those suggested by other studies by arguing that such experiences are multidimensional (e.g., Broad, 2003; Harlow & Pomfret, 2007; Jones, 2005; Lo & Lee, 2011; McIntosh & Zahra, 2007; Wearing, 2001; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007). These multiple dimensions of experiences were perceived by volunteer tourists as being significantly beneficial to them, confirming the findings of the previous literature, which suggest that volunteer tourism is viewed as a rewarding way of traveling (Jones, 2005; Lepp, 2009; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007).
This study also agrees with other authors (Broad, 2003; Jones, 2005; Zahra & McIntosh, 2007) who argue that the overseas context of the volunteer tourism destination is a key factor in facilitating the multidimensional aspects of the on-site experiences. The oversea context of Thailand had a powerful role in pushing the volunteer tourists to deal with challenges, unfamiliarity, and difficulties on their own, and to interact more often, and intimately with other people than when they live in their usual environment, which, in turn, facilitated them to gain a number of beneficial experiences.
However, the multidimensional nature of volunteer tourism may challenge a structural model of the tourist experience, as suggested by Quan and Wang (2004). Quan and Wang argue that tourist experience consists of two main dimensions: the dimension of peak touristic experience and the dimension of the supporting consumer experience. The former refers to the experience that is in sharp contrast to the daily experience, whereas the latter refers to “the experiences of gratifying basic consumer needs” during the holiday, such as food, transport, and sleep (Quan & Wang, 2004, p. 300). This model fails to capture the multidimensional nature of volunteer tourism experiences, especially in terms of the feeling dimension. Moreover, the concept of peak touristic experience is too broad to explain specific dimensions of the volunteer tourism experience in detail.
Most important, it was also found that in the context of orphan volunteer tourism, children did play a significant role in the volunteer tourists’ on-site experiences. Firstly, in terms of the personal development and growth, the volunteer tourists claimed that they had learnt a number of things from the children’ lives such as the values of love and the minimal importance of material possessions. In terms of the feeling of the volunteer tourists, children caused both positive (being impressed with their behavior and characteristics) and negative feeling (sadness) to the volunteer tourists. Moreover, the children were found to be a better source in terms of sharing knowledge of local culture to the volunteer tourists, as compared to adults because they were more straightforward.
The findings of this study also demonstrate that the volunteer tourists are distinct from general tourists in the sense that they seemed to be driven by a desire to help others and a desire for personal development, motivations that are not as prominent among general tourists. Additionally, the volunteer tourists are different from general tourists in terms of their choice of destinations, which tend to be poverty stricken or to have an image of being affected by disasters. This study argues that the volunteer tourists selected Thailand as their destination because Thailand is known as a country hit by the Boxing Day tsunami. This not only significantly influenced the volunteer tourists’ desire to help the affected children, but also played an important role in their selection of a place where they could best exercise their altruistic practices. Many of the volunteer tourists stated that they wanted their contribution to be most beneficial, so they believed that it should be performed in a place where there is much need.
The volunteer tourists’ on-site experiences were also found to be distinct from those of general tourists, in that the volunteer tourists’ experiences seemed to be greater in terms of personal development and growth. This is because volunteer tourism experiences are learning in nature: the volunteer tourists were out of their comfort zone and had to face unfamiliar and challenging things on their own, such as language barriers, hard work, and a different culture. These things forced them to try and experience new things that they would not have done if they had been general tourists and consequently helped them to develop themselves. Moreover, the findings also show that the volunteer tourism experiences are more authentic and genuine because the volunteer tourists live and work with the local people, which allows them the opportunity to experience intense and genuine interactions with the local people.
Above all, this study also found that the volunteer tourists’ motivations are related to their on-site experiences. This is because the five motivational themes of the volunteer tourists are consistent with the four dimensions of their on-site experiences: a desire for personal growth and a desire to gain new experience (motivations) are related to personal development and growth dimension (experience); a desire to learn about/be immersed in the local culture (motivation) is related to the cultural dimension (experience); a desire to meet and make friends with other people (motivation) is related to the social dimension (experience); and a desire to help children (motivation) is related to the feeling dimension (experience; e.g., altruistic practice is one of the factors influencing the volunteer tourists’ positive feelings, such as feeling proud of themselves).
This study argues that the motivations of the volunteer tourists play a significant role in influencing their on-site experiences, to some extent. For example, those who are motivated by a desire to learn about/immerse themselves in the local culture tend to behave in a way that enabled them to gain an experience related to the local culture of the host community (e.g., spending their free time learning Thai language from the children, helping the staff members cook Thai food, etc.), although they may also gain experiences in other dimensions as well. Above all, this study concludes that all the motivations of the volunteer tourists were not only fulfilled by the actual experiences: they were also exceeded. A number of on-site experiences which were not originally anticipated by the volunteer tourists were identified, such as learning some Thai values (e.g., the value of family, the significance of respecting older people, and the value of being grateful), enhanced relationships with people they came with (i.e., boyfriend or girlfriend, friends, spouse), and gaining a sense of global perspective (i.e., developing links between their own lives and those of the local people).
Implications
The findings of this study not only confirm previous studies of volunteer tourists’ motivations and on-site experiences, but they also contribute additional evidence to these topics, especially in the context of Thailand’s orphan volunteer tourism. First, this study enhances the understanding of the volunteer tourists’ motivations in relation to a natural disaster that occurred in a host destination. The study reveals that the combination of a natural disaster in a developing country and media coverage has the potential to create a profound impression on individuals and has the potential to lead people, especially those in developed countries to have sentiments of guilt or selfishness. These sentiments are essential to creating the empathetic motivations for volunteers to aid people to recover from the effects of a natural disaster, in the process gaining a high level sense of accomplishment and pride.
The findings also demonstrate that the children who live at the orphanage play a significant role in the volunteer tourists’ motivations and on-site experiences. In terms of the volunteer tourists’ motivations, the notion of working at an orphanage attracted people who possessed altruistic tendencies and wanted to help the children have a better life. For many, the desire to gain experience of working with children was also important, often in the context of personal development and possible career progression, for example, to become a teacher. Participating in volunteer tourism at the orphanage and close interactions with the orphan children also provided an educative platform through which the volunteer tourists could learn a number of things from the children’s lives as well as local culture.
In terms of practical implication, this study provides an insight for the volunteer tourism organizations about the motivations and on-site experiences of volunteer tourists in developing the volunteer tourism programs that can perfectly meet the needs and interests of the volunteer tourists.
Limitations and Direction for Future Research
This research is underpinned by an interpretive paradigm using qualitative research methods, and the research is based on only one case study and a small number of respondents not derived from probability sampling. For these reasons, the findings are unique to the orphan volunteer tourism phenomenon at the Home and Life Orphanage and are not possible to be generalized to other groups of volunteer tourists; nor can it be concluded that the findings are directly applicable to other settings.
In terms of the direction for the future research, this study suggests that more research focusing on the impact of volunteer tourism on the orphaned children, who are the direct aid recipients of volunteer tourism, is needed. This topic can be investigated from the perspectives of people directly involved with the orphans, which include staff of the orphanage, parents of the children where they have a parent living, and teachers at the school the children attend. Moreover, the volunteer tourists can also serve as another potential key informant for this topic because they act as caretakers and spend time with the children. Most important, the study can also be looked at from the perspectives of the orphan children themselves as they are direct aid recipients of the volunteer tourists.
Footnotes
Author’s Note:
This research is part of the PhD dissertation, which was supported by a grant from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University.