The Interpersonal Interaction and Socialisation of Volunteers: Case Study of Ride for Love

Abstract

Volunteer tourism has been growing as a significant part of alternative tourism. This paper takes Ride for Love (为爱远征,wei ai yuan zheng) as the case study, where college students in Guangzhou, Southeast China, ride bicycles to rural China to help teaching in remote villages. By means of in-depth interviews, the research analyses their experience and the change of attitude in relation to their volunteer activities. Young volunteers adapt their personalities during their journey of helping rural children with limited resource. There are diverse modes of personal and interpersonal interactions among the research respondents. These volunteer tourists manifest how their travel experience may lead to personal shifts and socialisation of youth travellers.