Volunteer Tourism (Voluntourism)

Voluntourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry!  The annual forecast poll by American travel specialist, Travelocity, found that 11 percent of respondents plan to volunteer during their holidays in 2007, an increase from 6 percent in 2006. Which makes us at Ex3 feel pretty good about the world…

This growth market has been coined ‘voluntourism’ a combination of a holiday or overseas trip with volunteering on local projects. It is a holiday choice travelers are making to immerse themselves in local cultures, contribute to the environment and make a difference. Voluntourism – where people of all walks of life offer their holiday time to volunteer to help out with what they see as a good cause – differs from "volunteerism" where people with specific professional skills volunteer themselves for an extended period of time.

Worldwide, voluntourism can take a variety of forms from repairing walking trails, cleaning up the environment, rescuing animal habitats, teaching English, or restoring historic sites. Voluntourism expert David Clemmons, founder of the website voluntourism.org, estimates there are some 10,000 voluntourism projects underway worldwide. Regardless of how these travelers choose to contribute their time and energy into such a globally beneficial cause, they always return satiated, their souls well fed after making a lasting difference in the lives of their international neighbors.
Many voluntourism experiences are free for participants with the only expense being the time sacrifice in some cases this includes accommodation and meals. When the experience is part of a coordinated tour there will be a participation cost involved. The cost is often offset by the benefit of the experience - gaining a greater insight into the communities and habitat that travelers visit and the satisfaction of helping others.

Voluntourism involves people from all ages and social classes traveling globally to give aid to communities in need and intimately experience the culture. This combination of exploration and inspiration is growing in popularity, mostly due to an increase in the number and variety of opportunities now available. No longer do travelers need to stay enmeshed in a foreign land for months to make a difference—they can now impact an entire community over the course of a week or two, or even during their honeymoon.

Like other nations, Australia is also embracing voluntourism and below is a snapshot of Aussie products that are catering to this niche market.

VOLUNTOURISM DOWN UNDER

Conservation Volunteers Australia (National)
The Conservation Experience operates weekly in all states and involves active conservation volunteering team-based projects. Travelers can combine visits to pristine areas and conservation activities. A range of accommodation options and personalized services are available with no more than 10 people on a program.
www.conservationvolunteers.com.au

Volunteers Australia (National)
This not-for-profit volunteer organization arranges medium-to-long-term volunteer placements across Australia for both local and international volunteers. Experiences range from working in Aboriginal communities where volunteers rebuild the bush land habitat to assisting farmers on rural properties as farm hands.
www.volunteeringaustralia.org

Indigenous Community Volunteers (National) Indigenous Community Volunteers is a not-for-profit organization that matches skilled volunteers with approved short-to-medium-term projects in Indigenous communities. The aim is to provide Aboriginal Australians with new skills that they can use to the benefit of their own communities.
www.icv.com.au

Youth Challenge Australia (National)
Youth Challenge Australia is a not-for-profit, non-religious organization that actively engages in grass roots community work throughout the world. In Australia they focus on Indigenous communities, seeking volunteers to work on health, construction, education or environmental projects.
www.youthchallenge.org.au/client/c_index.jsp

The Centre for Volunteering (NSW)
The Centre for Volunteering is the peak body in NSW promoting and supporting volunteering and community participation. It connects people and organizations in order to enrich the community. The volunteer experiences available range from working for a charity organization to conducting volunteer research at locations across NSW.
www.volunteering.com.au

Cape York Turtle Rescue (QLD)
This unique experience allows visitors to work with Aboriginal Rangers for a week to secure the habitat of nesting marine turtles from predators like feral pigs and man-made obstacles such as fishing nets. Aboriginal Elders and artists from the Mapoon community drop in to the camp regularly to talk and teach their cultural ways. In addition to turtle conservation activities guests engage in guided cultural walks, bird watching, fishing with hand reels.
www.capeyorkturtlerescue.com

Koala Ecology, St Bees Island (QLD)
This program involves volunteers in data-gathering, tracking, field ecology and other tasks focused on local Koala communities.
www.earthwatch.org.au

Willing Workers On Organic Farms (QLD)
The WWOOF program is a form of cultural exchange in which participants live and work with host families on organic farms where they learn about organic growing techniques.
www.wwoof.com.au

Gluepot Reserve (SA)
Gluepot Reserve, north of Waikerie, is one of Australia's largest community-owned conservation reserves. The reserve operates an Assistant Ranger program where visitors can volunteer to help out with the day-to-day management and operation of the reserve. They can also help university researchers with on-site projects or assist manage the reserve's own biodiversity projects such as bird, reptile, mammal and vegetation monitoring.
www.riverland.net.au/gluepot

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park (TAS)
The sanctuary operates a volunteer program that concentrates on conservation education and breeding programs. Volunteers can donate a few hours or a week to participate.
www.moonlit-sanctuary.com

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