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Volunteer tourism : saving the African penguin one volunteer at a time. The case of a seabird rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape, South Africa

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Technology: Sport Management
in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / Volunteer tourism, as a form of leisure and/or recreation, is one of the fastest growing forms of tourism globally. It has also become a critical human resource for many organisations in the Western Cape, South Africa who rely on the support of volunteer tourists. A review of the current literature showed that most volunteer tourism research studies is volunteer-tourist-centred and focus on the motivations for participation and the benefits of participation to the volunteer tourist. Very few studies consider the effect of volunteer tourism on the host organisation and within the South African context only two volunteer tourist profile studies exist. Both studies excluded host organisation factors that indicated how host organisations benefited from hosting volunteer tourists. This research study focussed on creating a comprehensive profile of volunteer tourists at SANCCOB (a non-profit seabird rehabilitation centre) in Table View, Western Cape, South Africa. The profile included demographic factors, motivational factors and SANCCOB specific information. Data were collected through an anonymous, self-administered, online questionnaire and from the data, five conclusions were made. Firstly, the demographic factors of volunteer tourists that participated in SANCCOB’s international volunteer programme was similar to other South African based volunteer tourism studies. Secondly, to experience something different and new was the most important motivational factor for volunteer tourists. Thirdly, volunteer tourists derived considerable benefit from volunteering at SANCCOB. Fourthly, volunteer tourists continued to support SANCCOB through social and financial activities after completing the programme, indicating that SANCCOB (as a host organisation) benefited from hosting volunteer tourists and that as a result, a mutually beneficial relationship exists between this host organisation and the volunteer tourist. Lastly, this study provided SANCCOB with valuable information for volunteer management, as well as future marketing and fundraising campaigns.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/2109
Date January 2015
CreatorsOlivier, Carolé
ContributorsJoubert, E., Davies, S. E. H.
PublisherCape Peninsula University of Technology
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/

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