“Volontourism” – international aid work and tourism

Over the last decades a new form of tourism has emerged, volunteer-tourism or “volontourism”. This is vacation and aid work in one package. With the argument of making a difference travel agents sell trips which include volunteer work for example at orphanages or building houses for poor people. This transforms tourists to volunteer workers with access to areas considered as “real” and “genuine”, traditionally not connected to the tourist industry. Consequently volontourism is built up by two parts: tourism and international aid work. However, international aid work with volunteers has a long history. It has been conducted by non governmental organizations for more than hundred years. My aim is to discuss (i) how international aid work is integrated into the commercial travel market, (ii) who the typical volontourist is and (iii) the connection between volontourism and the labour market.