Volunteer tourism: The ultimate authentic experience.

Volunteer tourism: The ultimate authentic experience.
Who makes the tourism experience in the 21st century?

This conference paper will seek to explore the cultural and social dimensions of the 21st century and by this it will include motivations of being a volunteer tourist and if this is the ultimate authentic experience. Furthermore, authenticity in relation to tourism will be discussed.
Authenticity was originally used in relation to museum and human existence and there is several authors who has defined the meaning of authenticity amongst one of them there is Ning Wang, (2000) which defines authenticity as :

“where persons expert in such matters test whether objects of art are what they appear to be or are claimed to be, and therefore worth the price that is asked for them-or, if this has already been paid, worth the admiration they are being given,” (1972:93; Wang, 2000).


The rapid growth of volunteer tourism has lead to many young British people, especially in the age between 18-25 wish to take a gap year to travel to seek the ultimate authentic experience and to develop their own skills and self as they are contributing to local communities.

Authenticity in relation to tourism has been linked to ethnic, historical and cultural tourism as well as volunteer tourism as all of these types involves some kind of presentation or representation of the past. However, there are many ways to approach authenticity within the concept of tourism and ‘volunteerism’, the essential part is; the search for the real thing (Wang, 2000).

As volunteer tourism has its history back to the 19th century, it has developed rapidly in the 20th century and has become some sort of mass-tourism.
In the 19th century people traveled as missionaries and pilgrims to curb the explicit class divisions in the society.
Furthermore in the late 20th century there was a significant growth of the volunteer sector and international tourism, as well as mass tourism was growing with a huge and fast rate.
Volunteer tourism can be categorised into different groups such as: alternative tourism, international volunteer tourism, social work and conservation corps work, (Wearing, 2001).



MacCannell (1976; 1994) claimed that the tourist has become a metaphor for shallowness and inauthenticity which means that the tourists are on a modern quest in search for authenticity. This theory concludes with the statement that the tourist seeks to go behind the staged authenticity in order to reach the reality. This can again be associated with what Volunteer tourists tempt to do.

Authenticity can also be related to heritage, ethnic and cultural tourism. Choen (1988) and Wang (1999) summarised some of the sociological approaches of the authenticity in tourism and two most popular themes are commodification (also known as ‘commodization’) and staged authenticity. Tourism seeks to promote the authentic experiences, but also commodify cultural assets to make it market the products as consumable. Rituals, ethnic art and local culture often tend to change the meaning by being modified just to suit the tastes of the tourists, which leads to loss of the authenticity as a local and cultural product. The constant pressure of supplying cultural tourist experiences can lead to staged productions which again can appear to be manipulated.

‘Volunteerism’ appears to be associated with backpacker tourist as the backpackers also travels in search for the greater authenticity.
The key motivation for volunteer tourism is the desire to go on a holiday with a difference and at the same time give something back to a community.

To conclude; by looking at the reasons for motivation for volunteers to travel and work, the main arguments were as follows; experience something different and new, desire to travel, learn more about cultures, interact with local people, one in a lifetime opportunity and authentic experience.
There is also negative impacts within the travel industry such as; the visitor experience can be affected by staged authenticity e.g. events that are being staged and has little or no relevance to the culture at the host community, (Cooper et.al. 2008).
There has been question of: “who determinates what an authentic experience is?” Truth is, that it is personal because it can be experienced by different tourists, not only volunteer tourists but ‘ancestral tourists’ also seeks an authentic and real experience as well as the volunteer tourists, but the ancestral tourists differ because they are seeking their own ancestry and family history. The common circumstances the ancestral tourist and the volunteer tourist share that they are both going on a personal journey, but the ancestral tourist may often be more individualistic (Novelli, 2005).








Key references:
Cooper, et.al.4th ed (2008) Tourism, principles and practice. Essex: Pearson Educated Limited.

MacCannell, D The tourist. (1999) London: University of California Press Ltd.

Novelli, M (2005) Niche Tourism, Contemporary issues, trends and cases. London: Elsevier

I have chosen to comment on this topic because it is loosely related to my paper even though it is in a different strand but also because I have written a previous essay on this topic for another unit.

This paper does have a lot of good points such as raising the point about how a lot of the so called 'authentic' experiences are in fact staged for the tourist as what they want to see, complying with what Baudillard (1983) says about how these sorts of attractions "have become so authentic that they achieve a state of hyper-reality". As well as "authenticity within the concept of tourism and 'volunteerism', the essential part is; the search for the real thing" as a lot of authors such as Cohen (2008) and Urry (1990), talk about how the only post-modern tourists on the quest for the authentic are backpackers and volunteers as more often than not they class themselves as travellers and not tourists. I also agree with the statement about developing one's self as O'Reilly, 2006 calls it volunteer tourism could be seen as a "life junction", meaning that a lot of researchers and of course volunteers themselves, see this sort of travel as having a lot of advantages for them in life such as helping with job prospects.

Another good point is about how volunteer tourism is becoming more and more popular with the younger generation the same as backpacking about contributing to the local community and as Cole (2007) volunteers and backpackers are often the most frequent visitors to destinations such as "remote marginal communities e.g. Ngadha", which could be classed as authentic as at the moment there are not that many people who will risk visiting these communities but obviously as more and more travellers arrives the less authentic they will become as the locals try to accommodate tourists.

I think what could have been looked into more is how post-modernity tries to challenge the notion of tourism being a "quest for the authentic" because it is believed that nothing can be authentic if it is moving with the times Rojek (1993) or if it is staged or just made to be authentic, and so looking closer at what the volunteer tourist actually wants from their experience could have been good to see if they are willing to go along with something advertised as authentic because not all volunteer tourists I don't think are wanting everything to be authentic they are just looking for the entertainment side to it, or how it makes them look, and so things like staged authenticity will continue as long as it is what wanted and there is a demand for it.

Overall it was well put together explaining the key terms such as authenticity and what volunteer tourism is and what kinds there are, it could have flowed a little bit better with better linkage between paragraphs but overall an interesting read with good points made.

Cohen, E. 2008. The Changing Faces of Contemporary Tourism. Sociology. (2008) 45, pp. 330-333.

O'Reilly, C, C. 2006. From Drifter to Gap Year Traveller: Mainstreaming Backpacker Travel. Annals of Tourism Research. 33 (4). Pp 998-1004.

Urry, J. (1990) The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage Publications. pp 83-93.

I have chosen to comment on this paper as the theme can be linked to my topic of backpacking well and authenticity is an issue which requires further discussion in terms of access to tourism and who is making the tourist experience.

This paper explains the concept of authenticity well and the way volunteer tourism relates to this. However the possibility of tourists not being on a quest for the authentic is not discussed, Urry (1990) defines them as aware of 'the inauthenticity' within tourism but still willing to enjoy playing the role of a tourist, however it can be questioned to what degree this could be applied to volunteer tourists.

To further discussion of this topic it is important to note that the author has researched the topic well and numerous authors agree with those cited. Howard (2007) Allon (2004) and Loker-Murphy (1997) agree with MacCannell's (1976, 1994) interpretation of tourists being seen as shallow and their currently being a quest for reality, they go further to explain that backpackers have shown the desire to move away from the term 'tourist' and escape the masses. Though this is becoming increasingly difficult due to the constant increase in numbers of participants and the belief that if something has been commodified it has already lost its authenticity (Shepherd 2002) which would result in a destination becoming less appealing to volunteer tourists and backpackers.

It would be difficult for the tourist to make the experience authentic as it would be difficult for them to exert such a degree of control over a destination and it's people. Though a community may modify their tourism product should there be an overwhelming majority of tourists who suggested that it was inauthentic and could result in decreasing numbers of visitors, as White (2007) states that tourism operators are aware of such a desire by tourists for the authentic.

The ability to define an experience as authentic or not relies on the intelligence and knowledge of the tourist. Allon (2004), Loker-Murphy (1997) and Bell (2002) describe the contemporary backpacker (which comprises of volunteer tourists) as being 'educated' which suggests that they are able to determine the degree of authenticity for themselves. Urry (1990) states that the availability of information to tourists allows them to evaluate this for themselves. This is in keeping with the aristocracy of the Grand Tour wishing to preserve the experience for themselves, meaning they determined what was authentic where now it is available to the masses to decide.

In the same way that the volunteer tourist is seeking authentic experiences, backpacking can be seen as a status enhancing activity (O'Reilly 2006). If the experiences sought are increasingly authentic then they would be considered of higher significance and a greater degree of status achieved, this explains a possible motivation behind seeking authenticity.

In conclusion, volunteer tourists may be seeking the authentic but it is questionable as to what degree are they able to influence any control over this.

Urry, J. (1990) The Tourist Gaze, London: Sage

Allon, F. (2004) Backpacker Heaven: The Consumption and Contruction of Tourist Spaces and Landscapes in Sydney, Space and Culture, 7 (1) 49-63

Loker-Murphy, L. (1997) Backpackers in Australia, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 5 (4) 23-45

I chose to comment on your paper because it shows similarities with my own conference work which addresses the topic of ancestral tourism. Moreover, your arguments and references round off some of my statements and made me consider new directions as well.

You stated that especially tourists between the ages of 18 - 25 are seeking the ultimate authentic experience. I would argue that this cannot be justified just for this particular age group. It is furthermore a trend which is connected to the modern tourist behavior in general. In this context, Josiam and Frazier (2008) describe genealogists as the main representative of the "modern role of traveler". In turn, this can be explained with the fact that authenticity is needed in order to fulfill descendants' expectations that the destination they are travelling to, is the same one than when their ancestors were living there ages ago (Yeoman et al, 2007).

In further discussion you pointed out that authenticity in tourism is usually mentioned in connection with historic, cultural or ethnic segments in the tourism industry. Thereby, you make clear that all those have one major common ground: the relation to the past. At this point you also could have considered ancestral tourism, due to the fact that this has become the most common motivation to travel back to the past in order to search for family's background and identity (Santos and Yan, 2010). Further down in your paper you repeated yourself by showing this connection between authenticity and tourism. I would suggest leaving one part out and reconsidering your structure.
Moreover, at some points it seems difficult to follow the structure of your paper. This might occur due to the fact that volunteer tourism is not easy to define and needs certain other tourism segments to be identified as well.
Another similar aspect which volunteer and ancestral tourism have in common is the growing interest during the 1990s (Santos and Yan, 2010). However, you expressed the opinion that volunteer tourism has turned into a kind of mass tourism whereas ancestral tourism implicates even a positive impact on rural and individual tourism sector (Theobald, 2005).

You raised an interesting question at the end of your paper, where you asked who determinates what an authentic experience is? This issue in combination with the statement that modern tourist are longing for experience of the true reality are aspects which entail the tourism industry to become one of the most complex and difficult service sectors (Baggio, 2007). However, ancestral tourism features a special characteristic by combining travelling with "authentic cultural experiences" (Russell, 2008, p. 113) and travelers argue that they are getting more out of this compared to other travel packages. It is the experience and emotional part which form the descendants' mind forever. There is more to the journey than simple gaining information on "long-lost ancestors" (Longmore, 2000, p. 30) and their life.
To summaries, you produced a good piece of work and it was interesting for me to read a similar paper to mine with new notions.



Russell, D. (2008): Nostalgic tourism. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing. 25 (2). pp. 103-116.

Santos, C. and Yan, G. (2010): Genealogical Tourism: a phenomenological examination. Journal of Travel Research. 49 (1). pp. 56-67

Yeoman I., Brass, D. and McMahon-Beattie, U. (2007): Current issue in tourism: The authentic tourist. Tourism Management. 28 (2007). pp. 1128-1138.

The reasons why I decided to comment on this paper are several. It is mainly because of my personal preferences while travelling, when I always consider a factor of authenticity an important one. I would like to comment on it as well because volunteering seems to me a niche tourism which has potential and is one of these activities which I believe can make a difference and make this world better.
The discussion paper appeals to me as it is thought provoking in terms of discussing the issue of who creates the tourism experience and what the experience is like. These issues are also vital with regard to my topic for the conference and having read your paper I must admit it has provoked me to re-think the way I see the issue.
Your paper explains the issue of authenticity and it is mentioned that tourists seek to find 'a real thing', a real experience. Here I would like to ask if a real, objective authenticity really exist. Tourism transfers the concept of authenticity to people, sites, services, or events and any subsequent modification, transformation or creativity to the 'original' idea is negatively seen as inauthentic (Wang, 1999 in Engler, no date). In my own opinion, it is necessary to apply more holistic, philosophical concept here, in order to understand the issue of authenticity in volunteer tourism. Every individual creates his own, unique experience as a great deal of how he experience the site he is visiting / volunteering depends on his own approach, his background and the ability to differentiate the real and the touristy. I believe it is especially pertinent to people and locations. In volunteer tourism it is people who play a major part and in my opinion stating that people in volunteer tourism are not authentic would be a misleading statement. Every case is different and everyone's experience is different.
I would like to mention another thing, namely the fact that a number of volunteer holidays are undertaken by people with a direct connection to a particular cause and are considered more as short term, intense volunteer projects rather than holidays (McGray, 2004). There is a cause behind it and there is something more important than the issue of authenticity - the issue of helping local communities. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult to decide if the experience is authentic or not. Perhaps, it depends on the individual feeling and is not measureable? Possibly a little change for an individual who helped other individual might determine authenticity? Your answer for 'who determines what an authentic experience is' is that it is personal and I entirely agree with that. I also think that you make a good point saying that 'the key motivation for volunteer tourism is the desire to go on a holiday with a difference and at the same time give something back to a community.' Therefore, the factor of giving something to a community is the crucial one. To me, that is what determines the authenticity and, possibly not all the volunteer tourists want every experience there to be authentic, all they want is their contribution.
Overall that has been a very interesting read and you made some very good, thought provoking points.

References:
Engler, Ch.. (no date). 'Authenticity vs. Staged experiences'. Available: http://www.themedattraction.com/authenticity.htm. Last accessed 5 May 2010.
McGray,D.. (2004). The Rise in Voluntourism. Available: http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/going-the-distance-february-2004/1. Last accessed 5 May 2010.)