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FEATURE ARTICLE 2
2012 For Voluntourism: What Can We Expect in the Year Ahead?
by David Clemmons
The travel soothsayers have offered some of their predictions for 2012 - what we can expect, where people might go in terms of "hottest destinations," etc. Voluntourism continues to be woven into these lists; thus far, 2012 looks to be the year of "athletic voluntourism." Travelers will pit themselves against athletic challenges, volunteer their time to accomplish these feats, and raise money for worthy causes. Sounds like a winning combination and a solid pick given the concentration on the London Olympics later this year. Yet, this is only a small part of what we are likely to see from voluntourism in the year ahead.
Introduction
The travel gods continue to smile on voluntourism as one of the 2012 top travel trends identified, at least so far, is "athletic voluntourism." Not a real stretch, mind you, as 2012 will see the Summer Olympic Games hosted in London, yet what it does tell us is that voluntourism is starting to be viewed, not solely as an overarching descriptor, but as offering potential niche products and services. This is something we want to be paying attention to, as these voluntourism niches will gain traction throughout 2012 and beyond.
Take animal voluntourism, for example, or dive voluntourism, or surf voluntourism - these niches began to stake their respective claims in 2011. Can we expect this to continue in 2012? You bet.
Before we go on, however, let's just recap what we originally envisioned for 2011 and discuss briefly how in tune we were with this past year's voluntourism trends.
The 2011 Recap
Last year at this time, I summarized what we anticipated seeing in 2011, thus:
"To wrap this up, let's recap. In 2011 we should see:
- An increase in the number of Small & Medium-sized Destinations and NGOs adopting VolunTourism;
- An increased emphasis at a global level on volunteering and therefore a natural segue to voluntourism;
- A noticeable, possibly dramatic drop in children-centric voluntourism, and
- A gradual increase in the adoption of voluntourism by travel aggregators, consolidators, and affinity groups, as well as eco- & environmentally-focused entities."
Point #1 - Check. We definitely saw an increase in small & medium-sized destinations and NGOs adopting voluntourism.
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"Coatamundi" Copyright © Tony Slater, All Rights Reserved |
Point #2 - Check-plus. The emphasis on the European Year of Volunteering, the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations International Year of Volunteering, and the topper - "voluntourism" mentioned as one of the three top trends in volunteering as part of the United Nations State of the World's Volunteerism Report.
Point #3 - Check. The anti-orphanage voluntourism campaigns in Cambodia are all we need to point to on this item.
Point #4 - Check. Matador Network probably led the charge on this point - with numerous blog posts and articles on the subject of voluntourism appearing on its site throughout 2011. Travelocity continued its Travel For Good program and changed the format from written applications to video applications.
What did we miss?
I missed some things, however, and want to point those out very quickly.
Item #1: Guidelines for Voluntourism - did not expect to see three (and possibly a fourth) efforts to set up voluntourism guidelines.
Item #2: Proliferation of "Cruise Voluntourism" - did not think that the cruise lines would step forward in 2011 as they did to include volunteering.
Item #3: Animal voluntourism - Not only did Nola Lee Kelsey publish The Animal Addict's Guide to Global Volunteer Travel, but we also saw an increase in programs around the world, with Elephant Nature Park, as an example, having a major showing in the media and on blogs.
Item #4: And who could have predicted Tanzania stepping forward and hiking up the price tag for its volunteer visa from $120 to $550?
Certainly there are other items that can be mentioned here, but these are strong points and give us a sense of what happened in 2011 for voluntourism.
The Year Ahead
So, besides "athletic voluntourism" what might we see in 2012?
Mayan Voluntourism
I anticipate spending quite a bit of time in Latin America (Central and South) in 2012. We know of the shift of the Mesoamerican calendar that will occur at the end of 2012. This will peak some people's interest in volunteering in and around the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. Voluntourism providers with programs in these destinations will, very likely, bring the "Mayan Prophecy" to the attention of potential voluntourists.
Skills-based Leadership Development Voluntourism
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"Like-minded volunteers from around the world working together and learning from each other is part of what makes voluntourism so rewarding." Copyright © Nola Lee Kelsey, All Rights Reserved |
We have seen a real push over the last several years to recognize the contributions that skilled individuals can provide in short-term engagements in destinations. We have shared voluntourism programs like Lemon Tree Tours, Culinary Corps, and Peace Through Yoga. In 2010, groups such as Therapists Without Borders added yet another dimension to this expanding contingent of skills-based voluntourism. In 2012, we should expect to see further expansion of these types of programs, particularly in the context of leadership development for skills-based practitioners and corporate professionals.
Gap Year Voluntourism Moves to North America
It took some time, but North America is finally catching on to the notion of the Gap Year and dedicating time within that Gap Year to volunteering. Sure, the U.S. has had programs such as City Year and Americorps for some time, but this was not so travel-centric. With organizations like Give Your Gap cropping up in the U.S. and some already-existing voluntourism operators talking up this concept, we should expect to see Gap Year Voluntourism make its presence known in the U.S. and Canada in 2012.
Voluntourism Creativity
2012 has all of the ingredients at its disposal to bring unprecedented creativity to the Voluntourism field. Companies and NGOs which have been in this space for a decade or more will experiment with new programming, while we will also see the emergence of new programs in destinations the world over as technology and connectivity contintues to enhance the capacity of local communities to offer local voluntourism options, leaving the middle man behind.
Religion and Voluntourism
Religion has been backsliding for more than a decade, particularly in geographic regions from whence voluntourists are likely to come. But over the last couple of years, we have seen an uptick in religious experimentation with voluntourism. Not that the mission trip is dead, mind you, but recognizing that potential religious voluntourists also appreciate the touristic elements of destinations has begun to come to the fore. And religion is not just a mechanism for sending people, but can also function as an impetus to motivate people to go to certain regions of the world. Case in point, in our 3Q's for this issue, I connect with Benjamin Orbach who is pushing for voluntourism to the Muslim World through America's Unofficial Ambassadors. The Muslim population is virtually untouched in terms of voluntourism; nevertheless, because of the tenets of Islam, it makes perfect sense to approach the Muslim World to also be participants, and not just recipients.
Final Thoughts...
I do not tend to speak too much publicly about what we do here at VolunTourism.org, in part because much of our work is behind the scenes. You might see us show up during the roll of the credits at the end of the movie, but that is probably all you will see. In 2012, however, we will be a bit more visible as we spend time working in Bolivia, Guatemala and elsewhere, and as we explore ways to enhance the capacity of voluntourism. We will be collaborating with the public and private sectors to reduce barriers to participation (local communities and voluntourists alike) and build out technological applications via smartphones, for example, to improve the monitoring of voluntourism - what it is and is not accomplishing - and give voluntourists the tools to make their experiences even more meaningful and to share those experiences with others.
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"Joy, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Egypt" Copyright © Creative Learning, All Rights Reserved |
Voluntourism is now gaining recognition at the United Nations, as we pointed out earlier in this piece, and in the world of academia with students and faculty exploring this subject in their undergraduate, master's level, and doctoral theses, as well as in the classroom. These two factors alone provide a backdrop for a promising future for this evolving travel genre. With the media continuing to recognize the relevance of voluntourism, whether the underlying purpose is to point out its strengths or weaknesses, we should anticipate a robust year in terms of media coverage.
There was a time when I was cautiously optimistic where voluntourism is concerned. Over the last couple of years, as the critiques have mounted, I have become pragmatically content. Voluntourism is progressing at a grassroots pace, slowly but surely weaving its way into the fabric of our global, collective consciousness. It is not toppling long-standing systems of doing; rather, it is knocking softly on the doors of these systems and offering a message that has been forgotten: voluntourism is nothing new, it is simply a reintroduction of an age-old tradtion in a modern context.
Travelers are playing their role; social entrepreneurs theirs; while companies and NGOs are continuing to explore theirs. The media and academia are doing their part and governments are starting to do theirs. Local communities are experimenting with how best to adopt voluntourism and we will see some truly amazing developments at the local community level throughout 2012.
For a year in which some are predicting the end of the world, voluntourism may be what steps forward and helps us to see, not an end, but a new beginning.
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