2013年度研究会報告
「グローバル化とアジアの観光」研究会（2013.10.6）
| テーマ | Volunteer Tourism Development in Thailand: An Implication for Development |
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| 報告者 | Dr. Kannapa Pongponrat, College of Innovation, Thammasat University |
Abstract
Volunteer tourism is addressed as a new way of tourism development to support sustainable development especially in local destination. Instead of using the term of ‘tourist’, ‘traveler’ would be another term for those who concern on social responsibility and began to search for new and exciting forms of travelling. This type of people travels to work for various purposes; research, assist, teach or exchange their experience with people and community without receive income from company or organization.
Thailand is one of the famous destinations for volunteer tourism operated by various organizations. Volunteer tourism plays even more important role to support disaster management in order to recover and rebuild affected areas. When Japan experienced Tsunami disaster in 2011, many volunteers traveled to devastated areas for helping on recovery process. This was also happened when there was Tsunami hit in the coastal zone of southern Thailand in 2004. During that time, there is emerging of volunteer tourism in Thailand when volunteers traveled to disaster affected areas where mostly tourist beach destinations were the target.
This paper provides theoretical perspectives on volunteer tourism development. Implication of volunteer programs related to tourism sector will be discussed. Finally research methodology for comparative studies between Thailand and Japan will be addressed for future research implementation.
| テーマ | Volunteer Tourism in Japan: Current Status and Research Agenda |
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| 報告者 | Mami Yoda (Graduate School of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies, Hokkaido University) |
Abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the current status of volunteer tourism and its research in Japan, and identify the research agenda for the future. Volunteer tourism is defined as tourism including volunteer activities: in other words, volunteer activities at places outside of ordinary daily activities, such as works and schools. Volunteer tourism grew rapidly in mid-1990s mainly in North America, Europe, and Oceania, and became widely recognized in Japan especially after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.
Volunteer tourism in Japan is still in its early phase, with only about 10% of residents in the Tokyo Metropolitan area having experienced such activities. Due to its early stage of development, there has been very limited research on volunteer tourism conducted in Japan as of date. Primary research conducted thus far identified that volunteer tourism activities in Japan have different characteristics from North America, Europe and Oceania, as seen in the short length of stay, and strong interest in domestic destinations. The research also revealed strong interests in repeat participation.
One of the major topics in the global volunteer tourism research is whether volunteer tourism could change the relationship between the host community and the tourists toward a mutually beneficial one, shifting away from overconsumption of natural, social, and cultural resources in the host community by tourists. However, most discussions so far have focused on whether volunteer tourism is ‘commodified’; there has been limited research on the factors that enables a mutually-beneficial volunteer tourism. While volunteer tourism research in Japan has many agendas to be worked on, researches on its relatively unique host-guest relationship pattern, such as repeat volunteers, might provide new insights to the factors leading to the realization of mutually beneficial volunteer tourism.
| テーマ | 日本のボランティアツーリズム：現状と研究課題 |
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| 報告者 | 依田 真美 （北海道大学大学院国際広報メディア観光学院 博士後期課程） |
要旨
本プレゼンテーションの目的は、日本におけるボランティアツーリズムの現状とその研究の状況を紹介し、今後の研究アジェンダを提示することである。ボランティアツーリズムとは、ボランティア活動を含むツーリズム、または、日常生活圏外でのボランティア活動と定義できる。1990年代半ばに、北米、欧州、オセアニアで急成長したが、日本でも東日本大震災をきっかけに広く知られるようになった。
しかし、日本におけるボランティアツーリズムはまだ初期段階にあると言えよう。首都圏住民の内、ボランティアツーリズム経験者は、約10%ほどである。同ツーリズムが初期段階にあることもあり、日本におけるボランティアツーリズム研究は非常に限られている。これまでに行われた調査によれば、日本のボランティアツーリズムの特徴としては、短い滞在時間や国内での参加機会への強い関心が挙げられる。また、継続参加への関心も強い。
世界のボランティアツーリズム研究では、ボランティアツーリズムがホストコミュニティとツーリストの関係性を相互にメリットのある関係性へと変え、これまでのツーリストによるホストコミュニティの自然、社会、文化的資源の過剰消費からの変化を促すのではないかというテーマが主要な論点のひとつとなっている。しかし、議論の多くは、ボランティアツーリズムが「商品化」されているか否かに焦点を当てており、相互にメリットのあるツーリズムを実現するための要因にかんする研究は非常に限られている。始まったばかりの日本のボランティアツーリズム研究で手掛けなければならないテーマは数多くあるが、リピーターの存在など、相対的に日本のボランティアツーリズムの特徴となっているホスト-ゲスト関係の中でも積極的な事例を研究することで、ホストとゲスト双方にメリットのあるボランティアツーリズムの実現に資する要因にかんする洞察が得られる可能性があると考えられる。
