Weronika Lis

Abstract

This paper reviews the latest research directions and conceptual developments on the phenomenon of volunteer tourism. The last review was published in 2017, so it is time to summarize and re-evaluate how voluntourism has evolved. The paper projects future developments within voluntourism by showcasing some critical changes in the participants’ attitudes. This is likely to influence how, where and by whom volunteering initiatives will be implemented. The contributions of this paper are assembling an overview of efforts to formulate a definition of voluntourism and providing clues as to what socio-cultural and market- forces will drive its evolution in the future.

Keywords: Volunteer tourism, review, local communities, experience tourism, adventure tourism, involvement tourism

Weronika Lis [w.lis@doktorant.umk.pl], Interdisciplinary Doctoral School of Social Sciences Nicolaus Copernicus University Bojarskiego 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Elżbieta Grzelak-Kostulska [grzelak@umk.pl], Department of Urban Studies and Regional Development, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Nicolaus Copernicus University Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Mirek Dymitrow [mirek.dymitrow@keg.lu.se], Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences Lund University Sölvegatan 10, 223-62 Lund: Sweden; Faculty of Arts and Humanities Department of Cultural Sciences Linnæus University SE-351 95 Växjö: Sweden