Increasing social responsibility in tourism based on volunteer tourism

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to determine the impact of volunteer tourism on the level of social responsibility in the tourism industry of Ukraine. The online survey included 440 respondents (77.3% women; 22.7% men). Physicians were asked about the importance of volunteering and their participation in the volunteer movement. According to the results of the survey, 59.1% of respondents do not have volunteering experience, 38.6% of respondents have episodic experience and only 2.3% of respondents constantly participate in volunteer activity. Although a quarter of respondents who do not have volunteering experience do not consider it appropriate to have such experience. This allowed us to identify the motives for engagement in volunteering and the factors hindering such activities. Participants were also asked about the impact of volunteer tourism on the prosperity of regional communities, building a democratic society, education of socially responsible citizens. The research has shown that for the development of volunteer tourism the most important is the promotion of volunteerism in society (61.4% of respondents) and cooperation with international organizations (50.0%). This allowed the authors to suggest directions and forms of international cooperation for the development of volunteer activities in the tourism.