Published March 2017

Volunteer travel is popular among young people who would like a unique experience combining work and travel. It accounts for an estimated 2 to 5 percent of global youth travel, or 5.4 to 10 million of the more than 280 million arrivals per year. Volunteers contribute a considerable number of work days and spend in local economies and are among those young travellers that stay the longest and spend the most.

Key takeaways

As volunteer travellers are hosted by a project and community, Project Perspectives on the Benefits of Volunteer Travel helps to better understand of the benefits of volunteer travel for the projects and local communities hosting visiting volunteers. This report complements earlier research on volunteer travellers published in the report Development through volunteering overseas.