Commodification of Volunteer Tourism: a
Comparative Study of Volunteer Tourists
in Vietnam and in Thailand
Volunteer tourism (VT) has often been
depicted as a means of avoiding the
commodification of tourism (and even
ecotourism) by ensuring that local
communities benefit from VT, both
environmentally and economically, and that
there is authentic engagement by the tourists
with indigent people and their cultures.
However, critics have questioned this claim,
arguing that VT has become little different
from tourism and ecotourism, entailing
commodification by providing profit for VT
organizations rather than for local
communities and consuming rather than
respecting local environments and cultures.
This study tests these claims and counterclaims
by a comparative analysis of two VT
experiences, one in Vietnam and the other in
Thailand. The findings of the study are that
although each cohort of volunteer tourists
(VTs) exhibited elements of both
decommodification and commodification, on a
continuum of decommodification and
commodification, the Vietnam VTs were closer
to the decommodification node, whereas the
Thailand VTs were closer to the
commodification node. In part, this was
because the Vietnam VT project was pitched
more towards conservation research, whereas
the Thailand VT project was pitched more towards vacation conservation