Wall Street Journal: Voluntourism Questioned

Understanding Philanthropic Travel
"I encourage travelers to discern the differences that Philanthropic Travel and Voluntourism offer and to decide which experience appeals to them. Whether you prefer to spend a morning or afternoon connecting with locals as the guest of an Exquisite Safaris Humanitarian Partner (offering a tax deductible donation) and the balance vacationing (Philanthropic Travel); or prefer spending a morning or afternoon vacationing and the balance serving as a volunteer (Voluntourism) -valuable benefits accrue to all who collaborate." -David Chamberlain

Voluntourism Questioned -Wall Street Journal
Excerpts: Libby Shearon was looking for escape and cultural exchange when she paid $1,500 to help build a children's center in Sri Lanka. Instead, she says, she got three weeks of arguing with local staff and laborers over how to execute the project. "It was a total culture shock," the 65-year-old London resident recalls. She struggled with what she felt was the dismissive attitude of local people toward her and local women, and couldn't shake a gnawing sense that her work was simply "tokenism." The children's center was built, but Ms. Shearon ended up concluding: "I should've just gone on a real holiday."

Some first-generation voluntourism programs were criticized as being less-than-fun for participants. And organizations such as London watchdog group Tourism Concern question the wisdom of dispatching unskilled volunteers for stints so short they're just disorienting. The group also questions projects where voluntourists displace locals on routine work, "as if local people weren't able to cook things or clean things or teach," says Tricia Barnett, the group's director.

As a result, a growing number of charities and tour groups are returning to the idea that tourists should just be tourists. Groups that want to funnel aid to poor communities now are appealing first to visitors' desire for a good experience, ahead of their work ethic and sense of sympathy. The rationale is that more tourists doing less produces more sustainable income and aid for local economies.

Learn More:
Wall Street Journal: Voluntourism Questioned
Understanding Voluntourism
The Good News about Voluntourism
Canada's National Post Newspaper: Philanthropic Travelers
Collaboration Creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel

Philanthropic Travelers:
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Marc Gold 100 Friends Project
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Chellie Kew
Jane Kaye- Bailey: Philanthropic Traveler
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler