IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v14y2024i8p178-d1456809.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Importance of International Volunteering for the Tourist Destination Image: Case Study in Barcelos (Portugal)

Author

Listed:
  • Ricardo Pacheco Coutinho

    (School of Hospitality and Tourism (ESHT), IPCA-Polytechnic University of Cávado and Ave, 4750-810 Barcelos, Portugal)

  • Bruno Barbosa Sousa

    (School of Hospitality and Tourism (ESHT), IPCA-Polytechnic University of Cávado and Ave, 4750-810 Barcelos, Portugal
    CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
    UNIAG—Applied Management Research Unit, 5300 Bragança, Portugal)

  • Vasco Ribeiro Santos

    (CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
    Instituto Superior de Gestão e Administração—ISLA Santarém, 2000-241 Santarém, Portugal
    Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

This research investigates the significant role of international volunteering, particularly through the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), in shaping the image of Barcelos as a tourist destination. The study specifically examines various volunteer programs in Barcelos, such as construction projects, teaching, and agricultural assistance. It focuses on the volunteers’ perceptions and motivations and on the impact of their experiences on the city’s touristic recognition. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research analyzes responses from electronic surveys with 92 former ESC volunteers and interviews with four local organizations that host these participants. The findings reveal that international volunteering through specific programs enhances Barcelos’ image as a welcoming, culturally rich, and civically engaged tourist destination. This research highlights the importance of integrating such initiatives into the city’s tourism management strategy, suggesting that such efforts can significantly enrich the tourist experience and the overall image of the destination. Furthermore, the study identifies areas for future research, including the need for a more in-depth analysis of the long-term impact of these volunteering activities on the local economy and cultural sustainability. The limitations of the study, such as the use of a convenience sample and the reliance on self-reported data, which may influence the results and their generalizability, are also discussed. In conclusion, this work provides valuable insights for tourism managers and policymakers, demonstrating how international volunteering can be a strategic component in enhancing the image of tourist destinations. Through careful and strategic management, Barcelos can continue to develop and promote its identity as a destination for solidarity tourism and cultural vibrancy.

Suggested Citation

  • Ricardo Pacheco Coutinho & Bruno Barbosa Sousa & Vasco Ribeiro Santos, 2024. "The Importance of International Volunteering for the Tourist Destination Image: Case Study in Barcelos (Portugal)," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:14:y:2024:i:8:p:178-:d:1456809
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/8/178/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/8/178/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anna Paola Paiano & Giuseppina Passiante & Lara Valente & Marco Mancarella, 2017. "A Hashtag Campaign: A Critical Tool to Transmedia Storytelling Within a Digital Strategy and Its Legal Informatics Issues. A Case Study," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Vicky Katsoni & Amitabh Upadhya & Anastasia Stratigea (ed.), Tourism, Culture and Heritage in a Smart Economy, pages 49-71, Springer.
    2. Wearing, Stephen & McGehee, Nancy Gard, 2013. "Volunteer tourism: A review," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 120-130.
    3. Meiai Chen & Tingting Pei & Eila Jeronen & Zhihui Wang & Lihua Xu, 2022. "Teaching and Learning Methods for Promoting Sustainability in Tourism Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    4. M. Isabel Diéguez-Castrillón & Ana Gueimonde-Canto & Nuria Rodríguez-López, 2022. "Sustainability indicators for tourism destinations: bibliometric analysis and proposed research agenda," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(10), pages 11548-11575, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Heesup Han & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Pilar Tirado-Valencia & Soyeun Lee, 2020. "Volunteering Attitude, Mental Well-Being, and Loyalty for the Non-Profit Religious Organization of Volunteer Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Roques, Kim G. & Jacobson, Susan K. & McCleery, Robert A., 2018. "Assessing contributions of volunteer tourism to ecosystem research and conservation in southern Africa," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(PC), pages 382-390.
    3. Wearing, Stephen & Beirman, David & Grabowski, Simone, 2020. "Engaging volunteer tourism in post-disaster recovery in Nepal," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    4. Xi Chen & Shaopeng Yu, 2024. "Synergizing Culture and Tourism Talents: Empowering Tourism Enterprises for Success," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 12439-12471, September.
    5. Abdul Hafaz Ngah & Abdul Halim Mohd Rahimi & Serge Gabarre & Luis Araya-Castillo & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Heesup Han, 2021. "Fostering Voluntourism Satisfaction and Future Behaviour in Island Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Miho Fukui & Yasuo Ohe, 2020. "Assessing the role of social media in tourism recovery in tsunami-hit coastal areas in Tohoku, Japan," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(5), pages 776-791, August.
    7. Koseoglu, Mehmet Ali & Rahimi, Roya & Okumus, Fevzi & Liu, Jingyan, 2016. "Bibliometric studies in tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 180-198.
    8. Qing-qing Lin & Julie Jie Wen, 2020. "The Socialisation and Interaction in the Volunteer Experience," International Journal of Social Science Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 8(6), pages 98-102, December.
    9. Hughes, Emma & Scheyvens, Regina, 2021. "Tourism partnerships: Harnessing tourist compassion to ‘do good’ through community development in Fiji," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    10. Jorge Cunha & Rainer Mensing & Paul Benneworth, 2018. "A conceptual framework to understand academic student volunteerism," CHEPS Working Papers 201803, University of Twente, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS).
    11. Stainton, Hayley, 2016. "A segmented volunteer tourism industry," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 256-258.
    12. Wong, Jimmy & Newton, Joshua D. & Newton, Fiona J., 2014. "Effects of power and individual-level cultural orientation on preferences for volunteer tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 132-140.
    13. Thompson, Jamie & Taheri, Babak, 2020. "Capital deployment and exchange in volunteer tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Sara Kinsbergen & Esther Konijn & Simon Kuijpers‐Heezemans & Gabriëlle op 't Hoog & Dirk‐Jan Koch & Mieke Molthof, 2021. "Informalisation of international volunteering: A new analytical framework explaining differential impacts of the ‘orphanage tourism’ debate in the Netherlands," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(8), pages 1304-1320, November.
    15. Lishan Xu & Changlin Ao & Baoqi Liu & Zhenyu Cai, 2023. "Ecotourism and sustainable development: a scientometric review of global research trends," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 2977-3003, April.
    16. Christou, P. & Hadjielias, E. & Farmaki, A., 2019. "Reconnaissance of philanthropy," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Carpenter, Kathie, 2015. "Childhood studies and orphanage tourism in Cambodia," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 15-27.
    18. Frazer, Ryan & Waitt, Gordon, 2016. "Pain, politics and volunteering in tourism studies," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 176-189.
    19. Ana León-Gómez & Jorge Alexander Mora Forero & Jose Manuel Santos-Jaén, 2023. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainability Education in Tourism Universities," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    20. Schweinsberg, Stephen & McManus, Phil & Darcy, Simon & Wearing, Stephen, 2020. "‘Drought tourism’ as compassion," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:14:y:2024:i:8:p:178-:d:1456809. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.