Gender related issues have emerged in every facet of life and the domain of homestay and volunteering is not an exception. The results of the current study
revealed that majority of female volunteer tourists preferred to stay in homestay accommodation than their male counterparts. An overwhelming number of them were in their teens taking advantage of their youthful age through gap-breaks. They were mostly pushed by the need to immerse themselves and pulled by the need to reduce pollution as they visit deprived communities. Traditionally, women are attracted to home than their male counterparts (Blunt & Dowling, 2006). Perhaps, their natural role as wives and care-takers has made this accommodation option more attractive. On the whole, volunteer tourists to the Kumasi Metropolis were mostly Americans, which confirms records of the Ghana Tourism Authority (2009). However, deviating from the Authority’s records was the existence of Chinese volunteer tourists. Even though there is an avalanche of research on volunteerism, the literature on the link between volunteerism and homestay is scant. To help bridge this gap, the study reveals the significant contribution of home-stay facilities in volunteer tourism which provide a structure for volunteer tourists to experience local’s daily life (Santos-Delgado, 2011). According to Harng Luh (2010), home-stay programmes that are joined with volunteer tourism are more sustainable and beneficial to tourists and host families. This is because the two phenomena are interlinked by three variables namely, community service and development, socio-cultural immersion and tourism. Thus, unlike other forms of tourism, volunteer and homestay tourism offer meaningful experiences to travellers as they volunteer to improve some aspects of the host community during their visit. These types of tourism contribute not only to the personal growth and satisfaction of travellers but also to the development of the host community and its unique culture (Callanan & Thomas, 2005). Significantly, volunteer tourists through community service are able to immerse themselves in local culture as they engage in local projects like building of schools, homes, and orphanages in developing communities (Lo & Lee, 2011). Moreover, both volunteer tourism and homestay require one common feature in addition to the above. Both activities (volunteer tourism and homestay) involve movement from one’s usual environment to a destination with a specific purpose. As a result, the two, when joined bring effective results. For instance, narrating from an observation in Thailand on the link between volunteerism and homestay, Broad (2003) emphasized that volunteer tourists who lived in shared accommodation at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project headquarters in a small village on the island were able to immerse themselves in the Thai culture and way of life and contributed to personal growth and a changed view of the world (Broad, 2003). Similar to the previous study findings, through homestay accommodation, volunteer tourists to Ghana share meals with local families and through this gastronomic adventure immerse themselves in the local culture. It was not surprising that socio-cultural immersion emerged as the major push factor motivating volunteers to opt for homestay. Perhaps, this useful link has necessitated the preference of homestay by volunteers to the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana.
เพศสัมพันธ์ปัญหาได้เกิดในพได้ทุกชีวิต และโดเมนของโฮมสเตย์และอาสาสมัครไม่มีข้อยกเว้น ผลของการศึกษาปัจจุบันrevealed that majority of female volunteer tourists preferred to stay in homestay accommodation than their male counterparts. An overwhelming number of them were in their teens taking advantage of their youthful age through gap-breaks. They were mostly pushed by the need to immerse themselves and pulled by the need to reduce pollution as they visit deprived communities. Traditionally, women are attracted to home than their male counterparts (Blunt & Dowling, 2006). Perhaps, their natural role as wives and care-takers has made this accommodation option more attractive. On the whole, volunteer tourists to the Kumasi Metropolis were mostly Americans, which confirms records of the Ghana Tourism Authority (2009). However, deviating from the Authority’s records was the existence of Chinese volunteer tourists. Even though there is an avalanche of research on volunteerism, the literature on the link between volunteerism and homestay is scant. To help bridge this gap, the study reveals the significant contribution of home-stay facilities in volunteer tourism which provide a structure for volunteer tourists to experience local’s daily life (Santos-Delgado, 2011). According to Harng Luh (2010), home-stay programmes that are joined with volunteer tourism are more sustainable and beneficial to tourists and host families. This is because the two phenomena are interlinked by three variables namely, community service and development, socio-cultural immersion and tourism. Thus, unlike other forms of tourism, volunteer and homestay tourism offer meaningful experiences to travellers as they volunteer to improve some aspects of the host community during their visit. These types of tourism contribute not only to the personal growth and satisfaction of travellers but also to the development of the host community and its unique culture (Callanan & Thomas, 2005). Significantly, volunteer tourists through community service are able to immerse themselves in local culture as they engage in local projects like building of schools, homes, and orphanages in developing communities (Lo & Lee, 2011). Moreover, both volunteer tourism and homestay require one common feature in addition to the above. Both activities (volunteer tourism and homestay) involve movement from one’s usual environment to a destination with a specific purpose. As a result, the two, when joined bring effective results. For instance, narrating from an observation in Thailand on the link between volunteerism and homestay, Broad (2003) emphasized that volunteer tourists who lived in shared accommodation at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project headquarters in a small village on the island were able to immerse themselves in the Thai culture and way of life and contributed to personal growth and a changed view of the world (Broad, 2003). Similar to the previous study findings, through homestay accommodation, volunteer tourists to Ghana share meals with local families and through this gastronomic adventure immerse themselves in the local culture. It was not surprising that socio-cultural immersion emerged as the major push factor motivating volunteers to opt for homestay. Perhaps, this useful link has necessitated the preference of homestay by volunteers to the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
![](//thimg.ilovetranslation.com/pic/loading_3.gif?v=b9814dd30c1d7c59_8619)