WITH THE semestral break just around the corner, more and more people are seeking alternative ways to spend their holidays rather than the usual traveling around popular vacation hotspots.

A number of tourists have been choosing to engage in more meaningful activities, such as tree planting efforts and livelihood training workshops that actually benefit rural communities—all while enjoying the beauty of their chosen destinations.

This rapidly growing concept of traveling and helping out is tagged as “voluntourism”—an amalgam of volunteerism and tourism. Its history can be traced back to 1951 through the works of Herb Feith, an Australian who volunteered for the United States Peace Corps and who became a translator in Indonesia. The Peace Corps, established in 1961, sent volunteers abroad, assigning them to projects in different fields such as education, agriculture and health, based on their skills and knowledge

However, the Nevada Board of Tourism coined the term “voluntourism” in 1998 to attract local residents to volunteer for the purpose of supporting rural tourism in remote locations of Nevada.

In the local context

In the Philippines, some travel companies are also encouraging engagement in voluntourism. One example would be Kawil Tours, founded by Guido Sarreal (BS COMTECH ‘10) and partners Jun Tibi, Renlee Cubello and Elee Bulantano, which is advocating for responsible travel.

Kawil Tours offers tours to Culion, an island located in Palawan that is still considered untouched, being a former leper colony. What sets its brand of tourism apart from the usual tours is the connection built within the community. Boat rides contribute to the income of local boatmen; partner families prepare meals served on the island; the residents manage hotels and inns, and the tour itself provides livelihood for the locals.

Aside from experiencing Culion culture, specific voluntourism activities are also offered by Kawil Tours. The first was held last October 2013, wherein voluntourists collected patches of garbage floating around the waters near Culion. Now, they are starting to engage in mangrove planting.

All these activities are done with the guidance of the locals. Sarreal explains that engaging the community and the voluntours is essential to the success of the trip, which is why they strongly encourage the interaction of the two entities.

Even after the trip, voluntourists continue to communicate with the locals through social media. When Super Typhoon Yolanda struck Culion in 2013, they were the first ones who responded to the needs of the island. Funds were raised for the repair of damaged boats, which were the major sources of income for the locals. The repaired boats, then, were used for relief operations around the island.

Student engagement

Atenean students are also actively engaging in voluntourism, with the Loyola Mountaineers (LM) being a prime example. Zhiela Santillan, a management senior and Environmental head of the group, explains that aside from mountaineering, LM sets time to push for its environmental advocacy, especially towards indigenous people.

An annual flagship project of the group, the Citizen’s Action for Reforestation, is geared towards improving the physical environment and to foster understanding among local communities. This year, their main activity was to plant and monitor seedling growth through collaborative effort with the Dumagat Tribe. This was not their first interaction with the tribe, as they have annual visits to Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija.

But it was through this continuous engagement that the organization determined that tree planting was no longer the utmost priority in the area. “Instead, our interaction [with the locals was] a way for LM members and applicants to tune themselves with the Dumagats of Gabaldon—sharing history and a vision of sustaining a living natural sanctuary in the area,” Santillan explains.

Considering alternatives

Today, different parties are questioning the implications of voluntourism. An article from The Guardian states, “An entire industry has sprouted out of voluntourism as it increases in popularity, possibly equal to the increase in global inequality.” Given the fact that voluntourists are from socio-economic positions that are vastly different from the people in the communities visited, a negative connotation is associated to it—a wider gap between the rich and the poor.

Hence, some travel companies are veering away from voluntourism and leaning towards alternatives such as community-based tourism. TriboCo. Kultura Kamp, a brainchild of Arvin Alvarez (BS MGT ‘13) and Mary Anne Collantes (BS MGT ‘13), is one of them.

Alvarez explains that instead of focusing on learning about the culture and identity of the people, the voluntourist’s mindset becomes, “What does the community lack so I can donate after the trip?” which is far from what Kultura Kamp is advocating.

“We also think that voluntourism—in our context, just specifically for [Kultura Kamp]—has a danger to send the wrong message to both the participants and the locals: That the kampers are going to the communities to save the locals,” Alvarez adds. Because of these reasons, Alvarez says that voluntourism is not the best approach for their company.

What makes Kultura Kamp’s community-based tourism different from the usual voluntourism is the concept of tourists going into the community as students to learn from the locals’ culture. Also, the locals themselves dictate what the kampers are allowed to see, experience and participate in.

Looking up and ahead

Even though voluntourism is faced with criticism regarding its negative consequences towards local communities, companies such as Kawil Tours are still finding ways to make the experience more meaningful. “We hope that voluntourism would aim to find solutions to the problems [of the community],” Sarreal says.

One proposal is volunteer-matching, wherein the expertise and competency of a voluntour would match the needs of the local community. “We want to get the right kinds of people,” Sarreal explains. Both Alvarez and Sarreal agree that keeping an open mind is essential to the success of their tours, especially those involving indigenous people.

When asked about the changes in the community since the voluntourism trips started, Sarreal speaks with utmost enthusiasm. “[The locals are] becoming hopeful, and they’re having bigger dreams. They have this sense of wanting to give back to the island,” he says.

Santillan agrees with these sentiments. “Voluntourism appeals more than just the value of sights,” she says. “It’s unique because not only [are you] able to tour new landscapes and frontiers, but you are also able to create a relationship with the community.”

For Sarreal, the most important output for both the community and the volunteer is friendship. “When you join Kawil Tours, you go on a journey with the community. You’re not a tourist, but a traveler. A tourist, when he goes home, it’s over. However, when you’re a traveler, you’re part of the journey,” he says. “You’re still part of it, even when you go home.”

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