The Misuse of Altruism: An Ethical Analysis of Volunteer Tourism

Abstract

In the following paper, I have limited my study to a theoretical and ethical analysis of the volunteer tourist business model. The aim of the paper is to study the effectiveness of the volunteer tourist industry against the values and ideals preached by both the organizations themselves and the volunteers who employ their services. The standard placed forth is the belief that volunteer tourism “makes a difference” or it is more beneficial to developing countries in its existence than not. In fact, these organizations argue that their cooperation in funneling philanthropic westerners to teach and aid developing countries provides significant benefits for the impoverished. This paper does not discuss the effectiveness of international non-profit organizations or other short term volunteering based philanthropies. Instead, the focus is upon for-profit organizations that use volunteering in developing countries for financial gains. [From Introduction]