Rethinking sustainability in volunteer tourism

Volunteer tourism is considered an alternative form of tourism [Wearing, S. (2001). Volunteer tourism: Experiences that make a difference. Cambridge: Cabi Press], which focuses on the possibilities of a more sustainable development. Drawing on research in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia and a fast-growing volunteer tourism destination, this paper challenges some premises of the conventional belief that volunteer tourism is a form of sustainable tourism. Using qualitative interviews with different volunteer tourism stakeholders, this paper examines volunteer tourism practices through the sustainability trinity framework (economy, culture and environment) and also extends the discussion to ethics of care by proposing the sustainability triangular pyramid. In doing so, this paper suggests the input of care can potentially strengthen the three pillars in the sustainability trinity, which might in turn help to build a more resilient future for the individuals and host communities in volunteer tourism as a whole.