The representation of voluntourism in search engines: The case of South Africa

Abstract

Abstract

Internet representations of voluntourism fail to effectively integrate tourism and volunteering

“…A decade later, the South African Department of Tourism approved the National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (SANS 1162(SANS , 2011. This was created to establish a common understanding of responsible tourism, and to be the baseline standard for tourism businesses in the country (Van Zyl et al, 2015). The Standard underlines that tourism should be a mechanism toward a more inclusive economy, but should also provide access to local communities and support local development initiatives.…”

“…However, despite the strong policy framework for sustainable tourism in South Africa, there is a paucity of research on the practices and experiences of volunteertourists in the country (Nelson, 2010). The lack of research is most evident in the study of volunteer-touristic activities in local communities, but also in understanding how voluntourist experiences are accessed, (re)presented, and negotiated by prospective volunteers in a South African context (Van Zyl et al, 2015). Especially in terms of the online domain, voluntourism is sparsely researched, with some arguing that more substantive research is needed (see (McGehee, 2014).…”

“…In the recent Special Issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, McGehee (2014) emphasises the importance of digital technology and the internet in respect of voluntourism and calls for more research to be conducted in the field. Indeed, little or no research to date has examined how the internet mediates voluntourism experiences, and particularly how voluntourism is represented online (Van Zyl et al, 2015). This article responds to the paucity of technology-focused research in the voluntourism field.…”

“…There is a growing body of literature that focuses mainly on two issues: (i) academics are debating the ambitions and motivations of volunteer-tourists (Daldeniz & Hampton, 2010) and the transformative learning experience sought by voluntourists (Knollenberg, McGehee, Boley, & Clemmons, 2014); (ii) the impact on hosting communities (Wang & Pfister, 2008) or power dynamics in such communities (McGehee & Andereck, 2009). However, what remains unclear is the nature of the relationship between voluntourism and digital technologies (McGehee, 2014); or in other words, how voluntourist services are accessed, negotiated, and experienced in or through the online domain (Van Zyl, Inversini, & Rega, 2015). In the recent Special Issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, McGehee (2014) emphasises the importance of digital technology and the internet in respect of voluntourism and calls for more research to be conducted in the field.…”

eTourism for Socio-Economic Development

“…The underpinning is that access to digital technology can promote social and economic development (Rega, Vannini, Fino, & Cantoni, 2013) thus helping in reaching the Millennium Development Goals (Heeks, 2008) and supporting the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Although, there is a lack of studies focusing on tourism (VanZyl, Inversini, & Rega, 2015) an interesting set of works focuses on entrepreneurship and suggests micro-small and medium size enterprises as unit of analysis (Heeks, 2010) to investigate the intertwine between technologies and development (Kleine & Unwin, 2009). Within these studies, ICTs are seen to generate benefits related for example to the interaction between customers and suppliers (Donner & Escobari, 2010) or to enhance the labour productivity leading to higher salaries (Esselaar, Stork, Ndiwalana, & Deen-Swarray, 2006).…”