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This paper aims to introduce the theme issue question “why and how should the international volunteer tourism experience be improved?”.

An Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded Festival of Social Science event entitled “Pursuing Quality in International Volunteering” was held at the University of Brighton in November 2013. This event brought together academics and practitioners in a successful debate, but it was also recognised that this was the first step on a long journey. The articles in this theme issue are drawn both from attendees at the ESRC event and from the wider international volunteer tourism network of academics and practitioners.

This paper introduces the key stakeholders of international volunteer tourism and the extent to which their voices are prominent (or not) in respect of the issues of achieving quality. Further, the paper highlights a number of quality mechanisms that are offered as solutions to the challenges that currently beleaguer international volunteer tourism.

Whilst not all the key stakeholder voices are represented in this theme issue, the discussions and implications that are drawn out are of importance to all stakeholder groups.

This is the first time a journal issue has focused on the challenges of achieving quality in respect of international volunteer tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in home-stay arrangements in Ghana’s cultural city, Kumasi, and further assess NGO intermediation of home-stay from home-stay operators’ and international volunteer tourists’ perspectives.

A mixture of quantitative and qualitative approaches is used to target three main stakeholders of volunteer tourism including international volunteer tourists, home-stay operators, and local NGOs.

There are seven major roles played by volunteer NGOs in the home-stay arrangement. However, from operators’ perspective, NGOs may hinder the economic viability of home-stay through inadequate/low payment.

The study highlights the unexplored brokerage role of NGOs in volunteer tourism in home-stay intermediation and its implications for sustainable tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise the contributions made in this theme issue and draw conclusions about the issue’s key question “Why and how should the international volunteer tourism experience be improved?”, thereby providing a theme issue conclusion.

This paper summarises and critically reviews the seven articles that have contributed to the theme issue.

International volunteer tourism is a growing phenomenon that has received much criticism in the last decade and whilst there are a number of mechanisms to improve the quality of this sector as yet, there is little evidence to support any conclusion that there is wide-scale success in achieving best practice in quality assurance within the sector.

This theme issue explores international volunteer tourism from a range of contributors, academics, a practitioner and a travel writer, who have engaged with a range of stakeholders to offer different perspectives. The theme issue as a whole offers the reader an opportunity to engage in a unique and wide-ranging discourse on quality and international volunteer tourism.

This study aims to investigate how university students experience a skill transformation process aligned with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This transformation occurs through their participation in a service-learning programme alongside an international volunteering project. The theoretical framework for understanding this skill transformation process is based on the “rite of passage”.

Qualitative methodology is adopted by conducting 23 online surveys with volunteers (virtual and onsite) and five with coordinators across the rite of passage phases. Volunteering was carried out in five Mayan indigenous communities in Mexico as part of an international cooperation project with the goals of supporting community-based tourism development and strengthening volunteers’ skills in accordance with the SDGs.

Results show that international volunteering programmes for university students significantly enhance their interpersonal and professional skills, demonstrating strong potential for implementing the SDGs. These programmes provide learning and education opportunities for both volunteers and local communities. Volunteers gain a broader perspective on gender equality and cultural barriers. Additionally, volunteering supports sustainable tourism, economic worth and collaboration among institutions. Both volunteers’ personal characteristics (educational level and sociocultural context), as well as their sociocultural context, influenced the perception of the skill transformation process and learning about the SDGs. Finally, a new educational university programme in volunteering aligned with SDGs is proposed.

This research examines the practical ramifications of incorporating volunteer programmes into university courses. Universities must include these initiatives in their educational systems as a means of enhancing student learning.

A new educational university programme in volunteering aligned with SDGs is proposed. This study suggests a shift in university mindset, as well as increased funding for training and adherence to the SDGs.

This study pioneers the rite of passage framework in an international volunteer tourism project facilitated by universities, emphasizing volunteering as a valuable tool for SDG implementation, considering the interrelationships between objectives.

The aim of this paper is to provide a background and offer insights of the use of ecolabels and certifications within the tourism industry and their applicability within the volunteer tourism sector.

This study utilizes a comprehensive literature review on tourism ecolabels and certification and presents a discussion about volunteer tourism certification.

The paper finds that it is apparent that changes need to be made in the overall practices of operators within the volunteer tourism sector. Guidelines and evaluation techniques are useful, but are not guaranteed in their applicability. However, neither is certification, unless it is monitored and accountable to its stakeholders. Creating a certification that has real world and tangible aspects for its consumers and subscribers would be more useful than one that is very theoretically dense. It is evident that certification can be used as a powerful tool in the quest to attain sustainability, and should not be ignored as a possible solution for the volunteer tourism sector.

This paper provides a comprehensive discussion on volunteer tourism certification and the extent to which a certification scheme would aid in alleviating current criticisms of the volunteer tourism sector and increase its social responsibility.

This paper aims to explore the experiences of international volunteer tourists, or voluntourists, to Botswana. Wildlife conservation, health education and orphanage voluntourists are examined specifically.

Qualitative data were collected through interviews with tourists who had completed or were in the midst of volunteer experiences.

Findings revealed that international voluntourism opportunities in Botswana are challenging to locate and leave volunteers questioning their impact. Some of the difficulties associated with voluntourism in Botswana included the need for volunteers to pay to participate, the concern regarding whether volunteers were depriving locals of employment opportunities, hesitation about the authenticity of the experience and the lack of community ownership.

This paper will be beneficial to industry practitioners as it details the challenges associated with international voluntourism and provides suggestions for ways to attract volunteers, engage them in the process and ensure both the organization and tourist have a positive and useful experience.

The increased interest in international voluntourism is a trend which is unlikely to decelerate in the coming years. This paper advances the knowledge on voluntourism operations in Botswana which may be valuable to tourists, students, academicians, government policymakers and industry practitioners alike.

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of the millennials segment that is most likely to cause a significant disruption in the way the tourism sector is currently structured. A profile of this segment has been developed along with an analysis of the marketing implications for destinations and tourism providers.

The research involved examining academic, institutional and trade literature to provide an overview of the millennials profile and the related developments causing disruptive changes in the tourism sector.

The characteristics of the millennials with the greatest potential to disrupt the tourism sector are their strong digital skills, high degree of permanent connectivity, search for outstanding experiences and altruistic behaviours. The results already present from these characteristics – with a high probability of intensifying in the future – are the practice of volunteer tourism, search for places not connected with tourism and adoption of new, disruptive technologies. Even though volunteer tourism is an act of altruism, it can have harmful implications for tourist destinations in which it occurs. In addition, tourist invasions of places traditionally occupied only by residents can lead to the removal of locals from these places, manifestations of “tourismphobia” and ultimately degradation of these tourists’ experiences. Finally, the adoption of disruptive technologies by tourism agents to fulfil the millennials’ demands for immediate responses reduces human interactions highly valued by millennials and, therefore, requires close monitoring.

This study’s value arises from its systematic identification of the millennials characteristics that are most likely to disrupt the tourism sector’s functioning, allowing the relevant stakeholders to adopt proactive strategies, minimise potential negative impacts and maximise opportunities.

The aim of this paper is to explore how an international business model was successfully developed to protect the environment, specifically, how the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation (WARF) of Thailand designed its unique eco-voluntourism products.

Primary qualitative data were collected through ethnographic research, involving researcher participation and interviews, with the founder and the management team. Secondary data were also gathered through undergraduate and graduate students' experience with WARF, a television news reporter, and social media data from WARF's eco-voluntourists.

It was found that the business model of WARF evolved through trial-and-error, whereby voluntourism projects were created in collaboration with stakeholders from both public and private sectors. The success of voluntourism lies in ensuring that the experience was rewarding for all stakeholders.

WARF's voluntourism business model has high market potential to be developed cross-continents. The findings are optimistic and encouraging for managers and policy makers, particularly for countries that are endowed with natural resources. Eco-tourism and non-service green businesses also found good ideas from WARF to apply to their operations.

It is extremely challenging to offer a tourism product that could add more value to eco-volunteers who already have high levels of knowledge in ecology. The WARF case demonstrates how extensive stakeholder collaboration makes it possible to create and manage experiences that would be perceived as a rare opportunity for educational eco-tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to test whether volunteer tourism organisations are prepared to learn from feedback on the quality of their responsibility communications, and consider whether analysis and communication of results can influence market improvement.

A purposive sample of five influential website pages of eight volunteer tourism organisations are scored across 19 responsible voluntourism criteria, and compared against the results of two years previously.

The authors report mixed results on how communicating results has encouraged change and industry improvement in responsibility, based on previous research that showed responsibility to be communicated inconsistently at best, potentially greenwashing at worst, across organisations, product types and responsible values.

The paper applies sustainability marketing literature to explain the changes in responsibility communication performance using an innovative tool to benchmark and audit responsibility in online marketing content and providing insight into how best practice marketing necessitates responsible operations. This paper considers whether and how, when presented with evidence, organisations choose to improve for a more responsible voluntourism offer.

The paper is original in providing a practical, industry-informed analysis of the reasons why volunteer operators communicate in the way they do, and the ability to influence their communications to be more reliable, in the context of increased criticism for shallow volunteering. This experiment allows industry associations and lobby groups to influence industry practice based on the evidence that improved communications are possible when specific, tailored advice is provided.

The purpose of this paper is to examine value change and changed consciousness with reference to three projects operated by a Guatemalan volunteer organization.

An extreme case field study design is used. It was extreme in terms of Hofstede’s cultural dimension individualism versus collectivism. Semi-structural interviews were held with 28 staff members in local projects, 43 volunteer tourists and the Guatemalan Country Manager. Two tests to measure cultural psychological concepts were held with 151 children (M = 12.26, SD = 2.96) and the volunteer tourists (M = 25.54 years old, SD = 13.07 years). Finally, an ethnographical analysis was made through volunteering at each of the three projects for one month.

All but two volunteer tourists had positive volunteer experiences. The culture clash did not influence the positive experience of each other, but neither did value exchange occur.

It is crucial for volunteer tourists to address the needs of the host community, for the volunteer organization to offer projects wherein people really are in need and for researchers, media and non-governmental organization watchers to generate more transparency at the volunteer organizations.

This paper focuses on all stakeholders in relation to the volunteering experience. More specifically, it focuses on the cultural differences of stakeholders to examine the relative influence on volunteering. Furthermore, this paper introduces new concepts like the hidden fact and awareness change.