voluntourism

British  

/ ˌvɒlənˈtʊərɪzəm /

noun

1. tourism in which travellers do voluntary work to help communities or the environment in the places they are visiting

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Example Sentences

“When is it more ethical to not go and when is it responsible to go?” said Claire Bennett, co-founder of Learning Service, a voluntourism company, who lived in Nepal during the 2015 earthquake.

From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2022

Andrea Freidus, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina, wrote that voluntourism gets in the way of recognising the structural issues that create humanitarian crises.

From The Guardian • Sep. 13, 2018

“Most people don’t have the time to dedicate two weeks to volunteering, and even if they did, traditional voluntourism trips can be pricey and physically arduous,” she said.

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2017

The growing trend of voluntourism attracts 1.6 million participants each year and gives travelers the opportunity to experience destinations in a different, more immersive, and often more satisfying, way.

From Washington Times • May 14, 2015

The cycle runs on the good intentions of the voluntourism culture, but “it disturbs and distorts economies all over the world.”

From Slate • Dec. 19, 2014