Voluntourism

heaven help me, yet another nasty new noun, the unholy marriage of “volunteer” and “tourism”.

voluntourism, an act carried out by “voluntourists”, is when h–rdes of – generally – the great unwashed backpacker brigade descend on a place to do have a jolly nice holiday – usually at precious little cost to themselves – and do the occasional bit of good work.

looks good on one’s cv as a gap year activity.
voluntourist 1: shall we go to khao lak to engage in a spot of voluntourism?
voluntourist 2: no, tsunami voluntourism is old hat now. all the bars are closed and hardly anyone is living in the houses built, anyway.
voluntourist 1: good point. (pauses) sierra leone?
vouluntourist 2: are you insane?
2 more definitions
the visiting of another place to help with humanitarian aid and/or disaster relief efforts
this voluntourism urge is getting out of hand. the people don’t need anymore heroes. they have enough help.
voluntourism is the act of visiting a place as a volunteer to aid in the recovery of that place from a disaster in a hands-on manner.
the most recent example of voluntourism is post-katrina new orleans, where faith-based and non-profit organizations, such as habitat for humanity, have been working to help residents rebuild their houses.