Volunteer Tourism concept is derived from: The wider concept of “alternative tourism” (Wearing, 2001)

1. THE IMPACT OF VOLUNTEER TOURISMON HOST COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK IN SABAH: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY.Albert A Aseh & Jennifer Kim Lian ChanTourism Management School of Business and EconomicsUniversity Malaysia Sabah

2. Volunteer Tourism Volunteer Tourism concept is derived from: • The wider concept of “alternative tourism” (Wearing, 2001) • Responding to the negative impacts of mass tourism (Mowforth and Munt, 1998) • The Western cultures are becoming more aware of issues on anti-globalisation and environmental-degradation (Uriely, Reichel and Ron, 2003) • Travel pattern shifts in focus from the wellbeing of the tourist industry to the wellbeing of the host community (Weaver, 1998) WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

3. Host Community Definition: • Host community members are those actors directly engaged with the supply side of volunteer tourism (Gray and Campbell, 2007) • Host communities provide services to volunteer tourists; they also expose them to local heritage and custom (Wearing, 2001) WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

4. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Volunteer Tourism Benefits: (to Community’s Members) • Provide assistance, funding, expert knowledge and skills for community development projects(Ellis, 2003) • Offer the means for community members to create and retain wealth(Stebbins and Graham, 2004) • Foster mutual respect and understanding through active cultural interaction(Wearing and Neil, 1999; D’Amore, 1988; Stanton, 2003)and shared responsibilities(Jedlicka, 1990)for a common purpose(Butcher, 2003). • Improve self-determination, more local control, more sustainable (Clifton and Benson, 2006; Jackiewicz, 2005). WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

5. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Volunteer Tourism Benefits: (to Community’s Environment) • Urbanisation of rural areas(Keogh, 1990; Mycoo, 2006) • Improve business and employment opportunities(Manyara and Jones, 2007);stimulate new development, generates demand for locally-produced goods and services and improves existing infrastructure(WTTC, 2002) • Promote community-wide projects(Sindinga, 1995) • Establish better guideline for conserving local environment(Wilson and Tisdell, 2003) • Promote local cultural heritage in positive manner(Yamashita, Kadir and Eades, 1997) WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

6. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Volunteer Tourism Challenges: (uneven distribution of monetary benefits) • Not everyone is equally involved in or affected by tourism activities (Stronza, 2001; Belsky, 1999) • The monitory benefits does not stay in the host community (Honey, 1999) • The local community members are only benefiting in terms of low-wage service employment (Young, 1999) • High start-up costs (Belsky, 1999) • Unattractive returns on investment(Berkes, 2004) • Conflict between the rich and the poor as local elites controls the economic benefits (Belsky, 1999; Scheyvens, 1999; Mycoo, 2006) WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

7. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Volunteer Tourism Challenges: (adverse effects of increased tourists number) • They demand for certain level of comfort (King and Stewart, 1996) • Create pressure on limited resources (Swarbrooke, 1999), depriving local community from them (Young 1999) • Pressure on the fragile local culture (Clarke, 1997) especially of small community (King and Stewart,1996). • Authentic interaction is derived from commoditisation of local cultures and natures (MacCannell, 1976), turning volunteer tourism into a mass tourism product (King and Stewart, 1996). • Create local dependency towards foreign aids (Tallantire, 1993; Lindenberg and Bryant, 2001). • Improper tourism infrastructure development reduces authentic values of rural areas (Boo, 1990; Lee and Moscardo, 2005). WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

8. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Volunteer Tourism Development: (the importance of host community’s perception) • Tourists are living and working alongside with the locals(Broad, 2003) • Meaningful relationships(Uriely et al., 2003)exists when tourists’contributions match community’s needs(Tubre and Collins, 2000)and expectations(Lyons, 2003) • By ignoring them, only creates tension amongst community members(Ziffer, 1989)and promotes neo-colonialism where the locals are dictated by capitalist societies(Wearing, 2001) • The perceived benefits from volunteer tourism(Wearing, 2001; McGehee and Santosa, 2005)are measurable in areas of politics, economy and social/culture(Richards and Hall, 2001). WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

9. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Volunteer Tourism Potential: (a niece market for Sabah) • A growing demand for participatory voluntary projects in community-based(Emmons, 2006)and conservation activities(Ellis, 2003). • Volunteer tourism improves the marketing image of the tourism industry, enhances visitor satisfaction and reduces financial constraints of conservation centres(Crabtree and Gibson 1992, Khan and Johnstone, 1995) • Sabah has a great potential based on its culturally diverse indigenous communities and world quality conservation projects(Town and Regional Planning Department Sabah, 2008). WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

10. STUDY SITE Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre: WHY? • Recognised by international volunteer tourists • An on-going volunteer programme WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

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12. RESEARCH METHOD • An exploratory qualitative research, designed to identify the key areas and framework to analyse the impact of volunteer tourism on host community. • Host community members who worked directly with volunteer tourists were adopted as the sampling frame • Personal in-depth interviews were conducted; respondents consisted of 10 rangers of orangutan centre and 5 employees of Sepilok Rest-house. • Using tape recordings, an average of 30–45 minutes WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

13. DATA ANALYSIS • 15 in-depth interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative-phenomenological approach: data-and-conceptually driven. • The unit of coding was mostly based on a single phrase or several significant statements that were meaningful and generate themes related to the research questions.Key themes and patterns emerged from the coding process. • The descriptive themes — key areas and framework to analyse the impact of volunteer tourism on host community; community composition, wealth distribution, tourism product, tourism infrastructure, institutional support, tourism site and tourism sustainability WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

14. FINDINGS Rangers at the Orangutan Centre expect Volunteer Programme (VP) to: • generate opportunities for rangers to generate additional income. • allow improvement of the rangers’ conversational English. • attract volunteers who have right attitudes on environmental issues. • attract volunteers who appreciate the ethical values underlying their experiences of working with local community members. • generate funding to finance conservation activities. • recognise the centre as the institution that represents the rangers’ interests. • improve the saleability of the centre. WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

15. FINDINGS Employees at Sepilok Rest-house expect Volunteer Programme (VP) to: • attract volunteers who are open-minded. • allow improvement of the employees’ conversational English. • promote business sustainability. • attract volunteers who appreciate local culture and traditions. • support local economy to grow. • recognise the centre as the institution that represents the employees’ interests. WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

16. Area 1: Community Composition • Improve English proficiency • Tourists appreciate local culture • Good interactions between tourists & hosts Area 2: Wealth Distribution • Retain wealth locally • Create employment and business opportunities • Improve welfare and quality of life Area 3: Tourism Product • Attract tourists with the right attitudes on environmental issues Area 4: Tourism Infrastructure • Urbanisation of rural site • Infrastructure development The Impacts of Volunteer Tourism on Host Community Area 5: Institutional Support • A body to represent community interests • Government support • Community-wide projects 7 Areas to Analyse the Impacts of Volunteer Tourism on Host Community Area 6: Tourism Site • Generate funding for conservation projects • Shared responsibilities • Tourists involve in conservation activities Area 7: Tourism Sustainability • Empower local community • Focus on industry sustainability Proposed Framework to Analyse the Impact of Volunteer Tourism on Host Community. Source: Developed from Richards and Hall, 2001 WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

17. Impacts of Volunteer Tourism on Host Community Area 1: Community Composition • Improve English proficiency / Tourists appreciate local culture / Good interactions between tourists & hosts Area 2: Wealth Distribution • Retain wealth locally / Create employment and business opportunities / Improve welfare and quality of life Area 3: Tourism Product • Attract tourists with the right attitudes on environmental issues Area 4: Tourism Infrastructure • Urbanisation of rural site / Infrastructure development Area 5: Institutional Support • A body to represent community interests / Government support / Community-wide projects Area 6: Tourism Site • Generate funding for conservation projects / Shared responsibilities / Tourists involve in conservation activities Area 7: Tourism Sustainability • Empower local community / Focus on industry sustainability WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

18. DISCUSSIONS This paper suggests that in order to assess the real impacts of volunteer tourism on host community, the following elements must also be considered: • collective changes • the complex structure of society • volunteers with the right attitudes • infrastructure development in rural areas • community-based organisation • financial and technical assistance • community development plan WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

19. CONTRIBUTION AND LIMITATIONS • The paper explores the key areas and elements to indicate the real impact of volunteer tourism on host community. • More importantly, the paper highlights the importance to incorporate the needs and concerns of host community in volunteer tourism development to achieve environmental and social sustainability. • Limitations of the paper: • a) sample respondents; • b) an exploratory quality study limits the generalisation of the findings; • c) require more background research at the field level. • Nevertheless, this paper offers new avenues for future research: • a) establish the changes in socioeconomic and cultural components which are fully attributable to volunteer tourism development; • b) comparison between expected and actual impacts of volunteer tourism from host community’s perspective; • c) comparison studies via different volunteer tourism sites/locations and different types of volunteer activities. WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur

20. THANK YOU WEC 2010 Kuala Lumpur