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Volunteer tourism is a relatively recent tourism phenomenon that provides individuals with opportunities to volunteer their labour or services as part of their holiday. The slogans used to sell volunteer tourism promise an opportunity for individuals to engage directly with local communities in order to 'make a difference' to people's lives. There is an implicit message that volunteer tourism contributes towards development. The marketing slogans, however, simplify the complex issue of development into something where people can 'feel good' by 'doing good'. The portrayal of volunteer tourism in the literature is also overwhelmingly positive, based largely on anecdotal evidence or the volunteer tourist perspective. Furthermore, volunteer tourism is predominantly recognised as an unmediated 'authentic' engagement between host and volunteer tourist. There is limited acknowledgement of the complicated web of stakeholders involved in the phenomenon, or that volunteer tourism is a mediated process. This thesis seeks to rectify this anomaly by testing the simplistic portrayal of volunteer tourism and shifting the focus onto the neglected volunteer tourism stakeholder, that is, the local non-government organisation (NGO) which acts as the conduit between host and volunteer tourist. To accomplish this, the thesis places volunteer tourism within a development framework and examines: first, the influences that have legitimised volunteer tourism as a worthy 'helping' activity, and, second, the perspective of the local development NGO, a vital facilitator of the volunteer tourism experience. Unravelling the historical legacies of colonial practice and the post-World War II era reveals how the beliefs of today's volunteer tourists have been shaped by the past. The impacts of globalisation further influence the actions of, and the decisions made by, the various volunteer tourism stakeholders. Volunteer tourism, placed within historical and globalised contexts, reveals a more complex picture than the simplified version sold to potential volunteer tourists. This thesis contends that a cumulation of influences has popularised development, and this, in turn, has changed the way development is viewed today. Development is now secured by volunteer tourism as an unskilled activity where good intentions, rather than skills and experience, are what matter. In 2010 I undertook field research in India and Nepal with the aim of giving agency to the local development NGO and understanding its position in volunteer tourism. Inquiry utilised a critical theory paradigm through case studies as the means of unravelling the complexities in volunteer tourism relationships. Significantly, research findings reveal that tensions exist within the complex web of relationships. In particular, as conduit between local communities and volunteer tourists, local NGOs are placed in a challenging position as they attempt to balance volunteer tourist needs, local community development needs and organisational needs. As a result, many of the transformative outcomes promised in the volunteer tourism marketing and scholarship fall short of expectations.

Everywhere you look today people are being drawn, often unawares, into the trend of 'development': sponsored charity walks, pay per click internet fundraising, the donation of time and money, concerts and album recordings, 'Fairtrade' shopping. Whilst living in the UK in the early 2000s it became increasingly noticeable to me that in the highly competitive charity and travel sectors alternatives were being sought to either assist in the development of poor communities or to attract customers via new products. Volunteering as part of a holiday was becoming the new 'fad'. Promoted as an opportunity to experience a different culture whilst doing something constructive and worthwhile for a developing community, it was the new fashionable way to 'do development'. Like many other initiatives in development, concern has been raised as to whether volunteer tourism can truly add value to the development of poor communities. Is it, in fact, merely a tourism product? This thesis is an innovative attempt to call volunteer tourism to account. Through examination of the new phenomenon and an analysis of literature and examples in relation to development and volunteer tourism, it will consider whether volunteer tourism has a place in development. To do so, the first chapter will examine the ground breaking initiatives that have infiltrated the development cause in recent decades and assess the value they have provided in poverty alleviation and capacity building. Chapter Two, focuses on one ground breaking initiative in particular, volunteer tourism. The main interest of Chapter Two is to introduce the reader to the concept of volunteer tourism and to evaluate it as a niche tourism product in today's post modern world. Chapter Three provides an analysis of development initiatives of the past and what approaches have the greatest potential for success. This analysis forms the basis of an examination later in the chapter; assessing whether volunteer tourism fits within the framework of development. Finally, concluding remarks highlight the complexity of the volunteer tourism concept and call for further research into the new phenomenon ‚Äö- volunteer tourism.