Volunteer Tourism - Altruism or Mere Tourism?

It has been said that altruism Is the fundamental basis of social life. However, It has not been in the centre when consumption of tourism has been discussed. Aim of this study was to go deeper into the structures behind altruistic and egoistic motives behind volunteer tourism - a form of tourism to which altruistic motives are often connected. Motives of volunteer tourists fluctuate in the scales formed on one hand by altruism and egoism and on the other hand by individuality and sociality. Although It can be stated that tourism in general is more or less ego-centric activity it was noticed that the line between altruism and egoism is blurred. By interacting with the fellow tourists and the hosts vacation-minded tourists can become volunteer-minded tourists even though their motives in the beginning were egoistic. By reviewing the wide range of literature concerning the phenomenon in hand It was claimed that in volunteer tourism, altruism, ethical dilemmas, pursuit of individuality and sociality combine and It is difficult to estimate which one of these is the main motivator. It Is similarly difficult to draw a line between altruistic and ego-centric motives. It can be assumed that these two are interconnected.