With reference to relevant academic and trade sources, explain the provision of your topic within your chosen destination and suggest how it may develop in the future.
Introduction
Volunteer tourism is when travellers visit any countries to do voluntary work in order to help the communities. The voluntary workers mainly target young children and elderly people. Volunteer work can be done by any individuals and in any countries. According to (GVI, 2014) volunteer work can be done by individuals who are 18 and over and are currently on a gap, seeking for work experience etc. (GVI, 2014) stated that in Thailand are looking for many volunteer workers around the globe and they are offering many volunteer works such as Teaching, Health Care, Child Care etc. By attending a volunteer work in teaching in Thailand for example, the individual are able to help the children with education and also provide them with good education. According to (TEFL, 2014) the volunteer workers will also have benefits such as they will gain confidence, meet new people, learn a new language, gain new skills, experience and many more. Volunteer tourism gives people the opportunity to travel to travel countries and change people’s lives who are struggling to make something out of their living. This will also give the volunteer workers satisfaction since they gain experience that benefits them in the future.
How many people visit Thailand each year?
(Go Overseas, 2014) has stated that Thailand has become of the Top Ten most visited country on earth. This is due to the fact that Thailand is such a beautiful country to visit and the tourists are able to experience this from volunteer work as well a mutual visit to Thailand. According to (Katka Lapelosova, 2014) Thailand is a good country to spend voluntary work in since the place has beautiful scenery where the voluntary workers are able to enjoy from. Depending on the voluntary work the workers will have their own accommodation and they will cost at a low fare or sometimes nothing at all. (Go Overseas, 2014) has also stated in 2013 26.5 million people have visited Thailand which makes Thailand a popular place to visit. This is also due to a very low cost of living where the volunteer workers do not have to spend a lot of money for their accommodation.
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In Thailand volunteer project with the children is the most popular programme since the workers and the children tend to be satisfied with this programme. (Go Overseas, 2014) also argued that English teachers make an encouraging influence to the children. (Open Mind Project, 2014) has stated that over 70 volunteer workers visit Thailand per year to carry out a volunteer programme. Since many volunteer workers visiting Thailand it will make Thailand better and satisfied place to visit. According to (Polly Dean, 2015) people visit Thailand to experience what their culture is like and their culture is easily adaptable by any individual. (Polly Dean, 2015) also stated that living cost is very cheap which means accommodation is not a problem and Thai food is something that everyone enjoys. Every year more people visit Thailand in respect to volunteer tourism or just a mutual visit to the country.
How much is it worth to the Economy
(Mack Alvin, 2013) argued that Volunteer Tourism is a new trend where people tend to enjoy their time being at the chosen destination and their chosen programme. For example, in Thailand there are few programmes available that can be chosen by the travellers. Volunteer tourism can bring the volunteers enjoyment such as they are able to go around the city where they are spending their time in. It will also give the volunteer workers to learn Thailand’s culture and the great surroundings such as the mystic Temple, Rainforest etc. The volunteer work often run among 2-3 weeks five days being the volunteer work and weekends will be the days where the volunteer workers are able to investigate the place.
The volunteer work has a great impact in the economy since the price of taking part in volunteer work is really cheap or sometimes free depending on the service. Mean time while doing volunteer work over the period of 2-3 weeks the volunteer workers can also visit around the place. It is a holiday for fewer prices and the individual is also able to gain new skills and experience. (Friends For Asia, 2015) also specified that for example, carrying out English Education Volunteer programme in Bangkok and Chiang Mai will save the volunteer workers money on travelling expenses and accommodation. As this will get more and more popular in the future people will prefer this as a choice since it will help the people gain experience and visit the destination at the same time it is like “Holiday with Benefits”. It will cause an impact to the travel agents and travel companies as people in the future may choose to go this way and this will could convince the travel agents and online travel website to reduce their prices for holiday destinations.
Why can this be important and interesting?
There are many things the volunteer workers are able to benefit from. In Thailand English Education programme is most popular where more of the people are applying for this particular programme. The volunteers are can get to know the background of the children and realise how these children are struggling for living, food and education as this will be a life changing experience for the volunteering individual. According (Nancy McGehee, 2010) volunteer work overall is a life changing experience where the workers are able to meet new people and children who are less fortunate in terms of food and education. According to (Tomazos and Buttler, 2009) the number of volunteer tourism projects increased dramatically in the Top-Ten countries. In the year 2003 there were 223 volunteer projects and in 2007 the amount of available projects increased significantly to 1,741. The reason for the increase is due to more and more people are willing to participate in these projects as their as showing a real interest in volunteer tourism.
(Tomazos and Buttler, 2009) has argued that due to the importance and interest shown by the people who are willing to take part in volunteer tourism there is now 146 volunteer tourism organisations around the world and they distribute thousands of volunteer tourists every year. Volunteer tourism is a very interesting way of getting to know other people, tradition, societies and culture. Volunteer tourism provides tourists with a life changing opportunities to work with people who are different to their tradition and cultures. According to (Jenny Morgan, 2010) It is an inspirational opportunity which will change the volunteer workers mind in a positive way and it will help them be more social aware and increase their understanding of the cultures. Being able to participate in the volunteer tourism project will change the person who we are right now and will ensure that we can adapt in any situations in the future of our life.
Developing the destination further
There are many destinations in Thailand that are offering many volunteer projects. In Chiang Mai there are many volunteer projects such as English teacher, volunteering with Elephants, Wildlife and Community Expedition. However, according to (GVI, 2014) the best place to do volunteering in Thailand is Phang Nga. In Phang Nga there are many volunteer projects where volunteers are able to take. The projects which are available in Phang Nga according to (GVI, 2014) are Thailand Coastal Marine Expedition, Healthcare, Community Development Expedition, Learn Thai and many more. Phang Nga is not only well know due to the reason that there are many volunteer projects which are interesting, the reason being that Phang Nga is a tourist attracting province. Phang Nga is situated in south of Thailand and this where the real beauty of Thailand starts.
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Volunteer Tourist have benefits when choosing to do volunteer projects in Phang Nga as the volunteers are able to get experience from their volunteer projects and they get to visit the attraction in Phang Nga such as Mountains, stunning scenery and national parks. According to (UNWTO, 2014) few crucial parts of Phang Nga was destroyed by Tsunami in 2004. In 2004 Phang Nga was yet the leading province to visit in Thailand. As Tsunami destroyed some areas in Phang Nga the community was left devastated. (UNWTO, 2014) stated when Tsunami destroyed the areas in Phang Nga, Thailand faced loss and they had to build the areas that has been destroyed from scratch. According to (UNWTO, 2014) it took them 2 years to build the crucial parts of the areas and they received funding from European countries and their government. In 2006 Phang Nga becoming developed and it became even better than it was before. Volunteer Tourist visit Phang Nag every year to experience the beauty of Thailand and gain experience and provide support to the Phang Nga community.
Growth of Volunteer Tourism
(Douglas McGray, 2009) has argued that people who are sitting around at home and not making use of their time such as an individual without a job. However people like that have an opportunity to change and turn around their life and this is by applying to a volunteer tourism project around the globe. The growth of Volunteer Tourism increased due to individual who are free are not willing to waste their time and use their time to help others who are less fortunate and gain some vital experiences themselves. (Natasha Stein, 2015) has argued that market value for volunteer tourism is £1.3 billion. Since there is a demand for volunteer tourism there are organisations that offer a short term volunteer work. Organisations who offer volunteer projects make good profit. (Natasha Stein, 2015) also stated that people tend to take these projects a holiday.
From a survey that has been carried out by (Natasha Stein, 2015) gathered that 300 organisations have offered Volunteer Tourism to 1.6million volunteer tourists. The organisations have great benefit over this type of tourism since now days many people prefer this type of tourism and when more people are interested in Volunteer Tourism means more customers for the organisations which means more profit. (Ritwik Deo, 2013) stated that gap year has increased from the past few years and this is due to students are willing to take part in volunteer tourism so that they are able to explore the place there are going to volunteer for and gain experience which will help them in the future. This shows that Volunteer Tourism has increased in the past years and there is demand for this type of tourism since people are willing to take part and learn something new as well as helping the less fortunate. In the future the demand for this type of tourism will still rise according to the amount of people interested in taking part.
Conclusion
Overall, Volunteer Tourism is a great opportunity to gain vital skills and gain experience. However there are downfalls according to (Natasha Stein, 2015) such as volunteers not meeting or having the necessary skills required, replacing unpaid workers and not showing interest at all. ( Natasha Stein, 2015) argued that few volunteer workers come in on their first they and they do not like the environment or the project and they do not turn up the next day. This will cause frustration since instead of the not interested volunteer workers they could have been replace by someone who enjoy the project and has potentials. However, besides the negatives Volunteer Tourism is beneficial with different varieties of projects that best suits the individual. Volunteer Tourism is very demanding since people are choosing this type of tourism over others. According to (Franziska, 2010) Volunteer Tourism is a valuable perception as this offers many opportunities to individuals. As the numbers of interested Volunteering Tourists are growing so are the organisations, the concept of Volunteer Tourism is ‘Gaining Little but Giving A Lot’. Volunteer Tourism is something that benefits everyone therefore Volunteer Tourism will keep growing in the future.
References:
- http://www.gvi.co.uk/volunteer-in-thailand/
- http://www.i-to-i.com/why-do-people-volunteer.html
- http://www.gooverseas.com/volunteer-abroad/industry-trends/annual-report
- http://matadornetwork.com/change/7-reasons-thailand-best-place-practice-voluntourism/
- http://www.openmindprojects.org/
- http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0113/how-voluntourism-can-save-you-money.aspx
- http://www.volunteerthailand.org/
- http://www.voluntourism.org/news-studyandresearch62.htm
- https://voluntourismgal.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/voluntourism-give-a-little-gain-a-lot.pdf
- http://biodiv.unwto.org/content/thailand-biodiversity-and-tourism-development-phang-nga-province
- http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/going-the-distance-february-2004
- http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=1151074
- http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-tragic-rise-of-gap-year-voluntourism-8473608.html
- http://www.goabroad.com/articles/volunteer-abroad/the-versatility-of-volunteering-in-thailand
- http://www.tourism-master.nl/2010/09/24/volunteer-tourism-a-mutually-beneficial-concept-or-an-exploitation-of-local-communities/
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