Voluntourism: A better way to travel. A better way to help

With the world cup, thousands of tourists will be visiting Brazil for one of the largest sporting events in the world. A recent trend towards Voluntourism, suggests that many will use the opportunity to help the local communities by participating in the available initiatives in their areas. However, while most people are aware of the benefits of voluntourism, it is important to consider the negative consequences that might arise. In his study, Guttentag describes five possible negative impacts that are caused by voluntourism: neglect of local´s desires, hindering of work progress and the completion of unsatisfactory work, decreased labour demand and a promotion of dependency, conceptualizations of the “other” and poverty rationalizations, and finally cultural change: the demonstration effect and short-term mission trips (2009)¹. I will elaborate on each of these issues and focus on how they might relate to Brazil during the 2014 World Cup. By understanding these problems and being critical of volunteer and development organizations, tourists who wish to help local communities can better inform themselves and have a greater positive impact.

• Neglect of local´s desires: Because many of these organizations rely so heavily on the volunteers, it is crucial for them to understand the needs and desires of volunteers in order to gather more interest. However, sometimes the focus on pleasing the volunteers overshadows the goal of benefiting the local communities. Sometimes projects are designed to provide a better experience for the tourists without considering the perspectives of those being helped. In Brazil for example, many of us assumed that the majority of the population would be cheering for the national soccer team and would be excited to host the World Cup. Upon our arrival, however, we realized that many of the locals we spoke with are against the government’s decision to prioritize the world cup over public services such as healthcare and education. With volunteering, it is important for tourists to avoid making assumptions and to ensure that they have the support of the local communities they are trying to help.
• Hindering of work progress and the completion of unsatisfactory work: The requirements for volunteering are often minimal and limited to spend a certain amount of time and to have a desire to help others. However, when volunteers, especially tourists who are only available for short periods of time, lack the skills and experience to perform their jobs they could be more of a liability rather than an asset. They could prevent the experts on the team from doing their work by making them spend time on training, and the actual work performed by the voluntourists might be unsatisfactory. During our site visits with LionsRaw and Cheer for Peace, most of the students had experience with soccer and working with children through camps in addition to their desire to help the local communities. Similarly, in order to deliver the most positive impact, volunteers should consider working with projects in which they have previous experience or where skills are truly not required.
• Decreased labor demand and a promotion of dependence: When volunteers perform jobs that locals could be hired to do, they make local industries non-competitive. Especially since most organizations rely on unskilled labor, their roles could easily be replaced by locals. Furthermore, dependency often arises when volunteers insist on donating goods for free. When this happens on a regular basis the locals begin to expect handouts, they become more dependent and this cycle encourages more begging in the community. It would be more beneficial to donate goods to be sold at thrift stores or to local organizations to encourage sustainability within the communities. By purchasing cheaper clothes, the locals can maintain more dignity when compared to accepting donations and by donating equipment to community centers, individuals can enjoy their benefits while becoming more physically active and getting more involved in the community.
• Conceptualizations of the “other” and poverty rationalizations: When organizations define communities by their needs, they often highlight differences and reinforce stereotypes, rather than unifying the locals and volunteers. Many of the tourist volunteers only think of the locals in terms of their poverty and other needs while the marketing departments for the hosting organizations often promote simplified imagery that generalizes small aspects of the local culture. When trying to gain a greater cultural understanding, vounteers can focus on finding things that they have in common with the locals. This is one of the major benefits of soccer for development and sports for development programs. These are activities that can be shared and enjoyed equally between the tourists and volunteers. Similar programs that promote a sense of togetherness, rather than the idea of the “other” by doing the same activities are the best way to overcome the stereotypes and cultural differences between the locals and the tourist volunteers.
• Cultural change: the demonstration effect and short-term mission trips: By interacting beyond the typical tourist-host relationships, tourism volunteer work can have a greater impact on the culture of the local communities. Whether it is an intentional religious exposure or the demonstration of higher levels of wealth, tourist volunteers can be a threat to the local cultural values. Especially when the volunteer work involves children, the volunteers may impose new values upon their hosts. They could promote a religion that the locals do not wish to follow or create unrealistic expectations when demonstrating signs of wealth. In order to avoid this negative impact, it is important to be mindful of the locals values and beliefs before promoting any new ones and when volunteering it is important to consider the economic limitations of the hosting community. Displaying expensive clothing and other items may create a desire to own similar items that the locals may not be able to acquire which could lead to tension between locals and foreigners.

The root cause to these issues lies in a lack of understanding for the people the voluntourists are trying to help. By being conscious of these impacts, potential volunteers can maximize their positive impact while reducing the negative consequences- whether they are helping during the World Cup or through other travelling occasions.

¹ Guttentag, D. A. (2009). The Possible Negative Impacts of Volunteer Tourism. International Journal of Tourism Research, 11, 537-551