The increased desire for an ethical holiday, to give something back as well as to experience the real culture of the countries we visit has led to a burgeoning market for volunteer tourism. A 2008 study by Tourism and Research Marketing, which surveyed 300 organisations, estimated the market size to be 1.6 million volunteer tourists per year and put the value of the market at around £1.3 billion.

Often called “voluntourism”, this amalgamation of volunteering and travel has created a significant amount of debate but continues to grow unabated. The main issues arising from this sector include whether there is a need for the volunteer and the legitimacy of the projects they do; whether the volunteer brings the necessary skills to the project; whether they are displacing paid workers; are they a drain on local resources; the cost of the project and where the money goes; whether volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults should have background checks; how well prepared and briefed are volunteers for this kind of experience and the cultural sensitivities of volunteering in developing countries.

There are many stories of volunteers arriving at projects only to find there is little for them to do, no logistical support on the ground or they are unprepared or unskilled for the experience. The growth of the market and positioning within the mainstream travel sector will continue to raise and address these kind of issues. This could ultimately lead to a better experience for volunteers and increased benefit to the local communities they visit, with movement towards regulation of the industry.

The sheer choice of volunteering projects now available can also make it difficult to identify the right volunteer experience. A search on the responsibletravel.com website for “volunteer travel” brings up 377 results, including conservation projects, teaching and working with children and community based projects in developing countries.

There is some good advice available, for example the ethical volunteering guide by Dr Kate Simpson, which advises volunteers on choosing the right organisation, considering their own motivations for volunteering and what questions to ask. The Irish development organisation Comhlmh has developed a Volunteer Charter setting out seven principles for responsible volunteering and a website, Volunteering Options, to advise prospective volunteers on choosing a placement.

The best way to identify worthwhile projects is to do some research into the organisation. The first question to ask is for a breakdown of the cost of the project and how much goes to the host community. An organisation should be able to easily provide this information. The next thing to check is how the project was developed and understand why there is a need for a volunteer, the skills required and what volunteers will be doing. Another key thing to check is what level of preparation and support are offered by the organisation, both before and during the project. Speaking to a previous volunteer or searching for reviews online can help to separate the good from the bad.

There are at least 100 UK-based organisations operating volunteering projects overseas, some of which are not-for-profits or NGOs and others commercial profit-making companies. These include companies like i-to-i, Inspired Breaks (formerly Gap Year for Grown Ups) and Real Gap Experience, all part of the TUI group. They offer a mixture of volunteering projects, work abroad and adventure tours, primarily aimed at the gap year and career break market, however they also have two week holiday options. Their volunteer projects include conservation work, teaching, caring for children and volunteering in orphanages, sports coaching, building projects and medical volunteering. Inspired Breaks also offer family volunteering holidays, for example a trip to Swaziland to help care for vulnerable and orphaned children. The Adventure Company are also offering family “Hands On Adventures” which include wildlife conservation and community projects.

The acquisition of these companies by TUI demonstrates the multi-million pound value of the volunteering and gap year market. One of the main criticisms of volunteering projects offered by commercial organisations is that the company’s main interest is in profit rather than development. Projects are developed based on what the customer wants to do, what is marketable, rather than the needs of local communities. Some companies will send volunteers to do the same project repeatedly, with little benefit to the host community. The other concerns about the commercial organisations are that they don’t match volunteers to suitable placements or interview prospective volunteers to assess their suitability for projects and they offer minimal preparation or training.

Two organisations which stand out for their responsible credentials are Global Vision International (GVI) and people and places. GVI won the 2011 Responsible Tourism Award for best volunteering organisation and were praised for the scale of their impact on the ground. They operate long term, sustainable projects in 25 countries focusing on environmental research, conservation, education and community development. Projects are developed for the benefit of both the volunteer and local communities.

people and places, who also won the best volunteering organisation award in 2009, emphasise their commitment to both volunteers and communities and matching the right volunteer to the right placement. Their organisation was conceived out of concern over the “chasm between marketing and reality in a significant number of volunteer offers”. They work with local partners and develop volunteer placements based on their needs. This is very much the model used by international development volunteering organisations like VSO and 2Way Development. They provide detail about the project and local partner and are transparent about how the volunteer’s payment is spent. They are now working with companies like Tribes and ITC Classics to provide their volunteering trips.

What is particularly interesting is that people and places emphasise on their website that these kind of volunteering projects are not holidays – “Volunteering responsibly cannot and should not replace the traditional holiday. It will be emotionally exhausting and mentally challenging”.

So is the volunteer travel market growing? The number of organisations and projects available would indicate that it is. Despite the recession, there seems to be a demand for this sort of travel. The current job market and wave of redundancies could be seen as an opportunity to take time out and travel or volunteer, gain new skills and experience to add to CVs. The high cost of many of the projects could be the main barrier for growth in this market, only affordable to the more affluent. But with the rise of the career breaker and the growing conscience of mainstream tourism, perhaps 2012 really is the year of the volunteer tourist?

Sustainable Tourism Report Suite more info : HERE

This article is written by Natasha Stein, natashakstein@gmail.com has worked for VSO, Earthwatch and Thomson Holidays and specialises in best practice in overseas volunteering programmes and identifying the right placements for volunteers. Natasha developed an interest in responsible tourism whilst working at Thomson Holidays as a Product Manager for long-haul destinations. After 6 years with VSO’s volunteering team, she decided to combine her experience in tour operations and international development and pursue a career in responsible travel. She is currently studying for a Masters in Responsible Tourism Management at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism.
The article is quoted from TravelMole and published January 2012.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.

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GDP: Direct Contribution
The direct contribution of Travel &Tourism to GDP is expected to be USD554.5bn (2.8% of total GDP) in 2011, rising by 3.0% pa to USD748.2bn (2.9%) in 2021 (in constant 2011 prices).

GDP: Total Contribution
The total contribution of Travel &Tourism to GDP, including its wider economic impacts, is forecast to rise by 2.6% pa from USD1,535.3bn (7.7% of GDP) in 2011 to USD1,999.9bn (7.8%) by 2021.

Employment: Direct Contribution
Travel & Tourism is expected to support directly 9,709,000 jobs (2.6% of total employment) in 2011, rising by 1.4% pa to 11,153,000 jobs (3.0%) by 2021.

Employment: Total Contribution
The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry, is forecast to rise by 0.8% pa from 28,058,000 jobs (7.7% of total employment) in 2011 to 30,338,000 jobs (8.1%) by 2021.

Visitor Exports
Travel & Tourism visitor exports are expected to generate USD487.2bn (6.0% of total exports) in 2011, growing by 5.4%pa (in nominal terms) to USD683.1bn (5.0%) in 2021.

Investment
Travel & Tourism investment is estimated at USD144.1bn or 3.8% of total investment in 2011. It should rise by 3.9% pa to reach USD214.2bn (or 3.9%) of total investment in 2021.

The Europe region includes the countries within the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus,Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia,Spain, Sweden, UK) and other European countries (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine,Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey)

Download the Travel & Tourism report on Europe here

About WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world’s leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries, supporting more than 258 million jobs and generating 9.1 per cent of world GDP.

This article is quoted from WTTC . Follow the links and get an overview of 2011 WTTC region reports or country reports.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’. Pictures from Denmark by DenmarkMediaCenter

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GDP: Direct Contribution
The direct contribution of Travel &Tourism to GDP is expected to be USD465.5bn (2.9% of total GDP) in 2011, rising by 2.9% pa to USD616.7bn (3.1%) in 2021 (in constant 2011 prices).

GDP: Total Contribution
The total contribution of Travel &Tourism to GDP, including its wider economic impacts, is forecast to rise by 2.4% pa from USD1,248.0bn (7.8% of GDP) in 2011 to USD1,580.3bn (8.1%) by 2021.

Employment: Direct Contribution
Travel & Tourism is expected to support directly 7,062,000 jobs (3.2% of total employment) in 2011, rising by 1.5% pa to 8,218,000 jobs (3.7%) by 2021.

Employment: Total Contribution
The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the industry, is forecast to rise by 0.9% pa from 18,382,000 jobs (8.4% of total employment) in 2011 to 20,066,000 jobs (8.9%) by 2021.

Visitor Exports
Travel & Tourism visitor exports are expected to generate USD398.7bn (5.9% of total exports) in 2011, growing by 5.1%pa (in nominal terms) to USD552.7bn (4.9%) in 2021.

Investment
Travel & Tourism investment is estimated at USD117.3bn or 4.0% of total investment in 2011. It should rise by 3.6% pa to reach USD166.6bn (or 4.2%) of total investment in 2021.

World ranking (out of 12 regions):
Relative importance of Travel & Tourism’s total contribution to GDP.
• 2 ABSOLUTE size
• 8 RELATIVE contribution to national economy
• 12 GROWTH forecast

The European Union includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Download the Travel & Tourism report on European Union here

About WTTC
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. With Chief Executives of some one hundred of the world’s leading Travel & Tourism companies as its Members, WTTC has a unique mandate and overview on all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries, supporting more than 258 million jobs and generating 9.1 per cent of world GDP.

This article is quoted from WTTC . Follow the links and get an overview of 2011 WTTC region reports or country reports.

This article is uploaded by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’. Photos from Denmark by Casper Magnussen.

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Kenneth Wardrop, on the eve of the opening of Edinburgh’s festival season, gives his reasons for Edinburgh’s phenomenal success.

Every year Edinburgh attracts millions to its wonderful festivals, not only numbers of tourists but the right sort of people and a top quality, locally retained, spend.
How do they do it?

Says Kenneth, “The key factors are:

1. “Organic growth from strong local roots, matching event to local demographic, engendering ownership and civic pride, plus generating underpinning ticket sales”

2. “Taking the long term view, sustained support to establish the event, festival and market position, plus customer recognition and loyalty”

3. “Mix of showcasing best of local with international”

4. “Knowing your customers”

5. “Critical mass and creating that buzz”

6. “Edinburgh’s scale, concentration of venues and critical mass, as well as the city acting as a natural stage, walk ability”

7. “The base cultural and physical support infrastructure for staging/ supporting events and the talent pool (sustained year round – sustained by cultural activity)”

8. “The visitor infrastructure ref hygiene factors – hotels , transport, restaurants etc”

9. “The freedom of programming in the Fringe (it is as much about right of passage and creative experimentation as drawing audience – getting spotted and the experience)”

10. “All mixed with curated and programmed activity such as the Edinburgh International Festival (the gravitas of which gives a legitimacy to the Fringe too)”

11. “The diversity of offer from comedy , to high art, to fringe experimentation”

12. “The power of the festivals coming together collaboratively to share practice, pool talent resources, joint marketing, packaging, PR, audience research , influencing policy and resource allocation and innovation”

13. “The recognition of the value of their product – the content and the need to take control now of how that content is utilised in the media (helped by the internet now of course example EdFest TV);

14. “The value as a global brand and opportunity to export that and raise profile at the same time.”

As told to Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite and Masterclasses current details and special offers at: www.travelmole.com/stories/1142003.php

This article is a quoted from Travelmole newsletter from 2010-1-8. To read the original article please follow this link .

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The Hotels.com poll of ‘Wedding Ideas’ magazine readers found that over three-quarters (77%) of couples are planning to take a honeymoon lasting less than two weeks. In fact, 30% are planning to go away for just one week or under. This group of ‘minimooners’ said budget constraints (74%) and worries about work commitments (56%) dictated the shorter length of their holiday.

It is not only the length of stay that is changing; the research found that couples are flexible about when they leave for their honeymoon. Whilst 57% of those questioned plan to head off straight after their wedding, over a quarter (28%) are considering waiting for a few weeks or months after the wedding before they go away and a further quarter (26%) said they would be happy to take a short break after the wedding and wait until they have the money for a longer holiday.

Honeymoon spend reflects this trend, with the majority of those surveyed (27%) saying they will spend between GBP500 and GBP1000 per person on their honeymoon, while one in five (19%) are planning to spend just GBP500 per person or under (GBP1000 in total). However, some couples will still splash out – 17% are planning to spend more than GBP2,000 per person on their perfect honeymoon.

The research found that while 54% of those questioned plan to go on a long haul post wedding trip, a growing number are planning to steer away from the traditional honeymoon beach destinations of Mauritius and the Maldives, and instead opt for holidays closer to home. While 18% are planning to go to mid-haul destinations such as Egypt, Turkey or Morocco, a further 19% will honeymoon in Europe and 9% are planning a UK break.

Beach and city breaks are the most popular honeymoon of choice, with a quarter of Brits (25%) choosing to combine culture and sunshine over a classic beach holiday (20%) or an exotic break (17%).

Alison Couper, Communications Director for Hotels.com, said: “A honeymoon is an important part of getting married and we’re not surprised to see that people would rather downsize their trip than not go at all. Whether newlyweds decide to shorten their honeymoon to a ‘minimoon’ or stay the traditional fortnight but drop a hotel star rating, there are some fantastic deals to be had. There are savings of up to 50% off in the current Hotels.com summer sale, so honeymooners should take advantage.”

Rachel Moschke, Editor of Wedding Ideas magazine, said: “Most of us worry about saving up for our wedding day, but it seems we’re reluctant to give up the quality time together that a honeymoon offers. A ‘minimoon’ is the perfect way to start married life, without busting the budget.”

Notes to Editors:
*Research conducted among 300 Wedding Ideas magazine readers in May/June 2009.

About Hotels.com
As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets with dedicated staff, Hotels.com offers more than 100,000 quality hotels worldwide including New York hotels, Rome hotels, Edinburgh hotels and London hotels. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its users, plus the site has user-contributed reviews of its properties.

Source: Hotels.com
Website: http://www.hotels.co.uk/

This article is quoted from the newsletter TourismROI Alert from Tourism ROI. The article was originally published on 2009-07-06

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Be inspired at:

Europe
Grace Tours (Denmark)
UNITAS rejser (Denmark)

Exodus UK (UK)
Saddle Skedaddle (UK)
Undiscovered Destinations (UK)
World wide helpers (UK)
Explore UK (UK)

Thurgau Travel (Switzerland)

USA/Canada
Experience Bangladesh (USA)
Adventure Center (USA)
Remote Lands (USA)

Asian Paciffic Adventures (Canada)
CAP Adventure (Canada)

Australia
Intrepid Travel (Australia)

This article is written by Majbritt Thomsen, administrator on ‘Views On Tourism’.

There are so many visionary people and valuable resources related to a sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh. If these forces are united great things will happen – both on grass root, private sector and at government level.
Please join the online Views On Tourism network and discussion group in order to achieve personal goals as well as encourage a sustainable tourism development in Bangladesh. Read more about this group and how to become a member here.

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