Study on the awareness of the concept of volunteer tourism

• Author: Albu R.G., Baltescu C.A., Chitu I.B.
• Pages: 109-116

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series V: Economic Sciences • Vol. 10 (59) No. 2 - 2017

Study on the awareness of the concept of volunteer

tourism

Ruxandra Gabriela ALBU1, Codruța Adina BĂLTESCU2,

Ioana Bianca CHIȚU3

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a qualitative research conducted among the

master students at the study programme Business Administration in Tourism, within the

Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of

Brașov, which targeted the awareness of the concept of volunteer tourism. The research has

shown that the subjects have little information about this type of tourism, which should be

better promoted in the future, among young people, especially among those who study

tourism.

Key-words: volunteer tourism, tourist destination, local community, tourist experience,

qualitative research

1. Introduction

Volunteer tourism has developed over the last decade, being strongly influenced by

the emergence of modern technology (Gard McGehee, 2014; Sin et al., 2015;

World Lifetime Journeys, 2017). The main reasons for choosing this type of tourism

may target the possibility of travelling, seeing new people and places, making

friends, learning novel things, personal well-being, recording this kind of activity in

the CV, doing some good to someone, desire for existential authenticity, or may be a

chance to change one’s life and thinking (World Lifetime Journeys, 2017;

Kontogeorgopoulos, 2017; Weaver, 2015).

An initiative aimed at volunteer tourism is WWOOF, which gives people the

chance to volunteer in farms and agroecological households. The volunteers

(WWOOFers) work at these farms and instead receive food and accommodation.

WWOOF originally stood for "Working Weekends On Organic Farms" and

began in England in 1971 (WWOOF, 2017). Following this experience, the

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, ruxandra.albu@unitbv.ro

2 Transilvania University of Braşov, cod ruta.baltescu@unitbv.ro

3 Transilvania University of Braşov, ioana.chitu@unitbv.ro