The ‘volunteer tourist gaze’: commercial volunteer tourists’ interactions with, and perceptions of, the host community in Cusco, Peru

Commercial volunteer tourism in Cusco, Peru, perpetuates neo-colonial discourses by emphasizing the divide between volunteers from developed nations and host communities. Despite active engagement and multi-sensory experiences, interactions are limited by language barriers and do little to foster cross-cultural understanding. The study, based on interviews with volunteer tourists and participant observation, reveals that these dynamics reinforce a 'volunteer tourist gaze' characterized by commodification and neo-colonial tendencies.

Godfrey, J., Wearing, S. L., Schulenkorf, N., & Grabowski, S. (2019). The ‘volunteer tourist gaze’: commercial volunteer tourists’ interactions with, and perceptions of, the host community in Cusco, Peru. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(20), 2555–2571. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1657811