How to Become a Volunteer Tourist

by Veronica Delacruz Marketing

As quoted perfectly, “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer”. You spend handsome amount of money to plan a trip through trip planner and make it happen. But the experience you get, the people you meet, the stories you get to hear are far more worth than the cost for your vacation plan. Spending enough money is the foremost need to make a travel plan success. But, did you ever dream of working while travelling and coming back home with those extra bucks and experience of course? Yes, this is absolutely possible.

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One of the most popular ways to do so is Volunteering while travelling. Volunteering can help an individual know more about the place, the culture, the people and every other thing. In other words, you are on a working holiday. Sounds interesting right? Well here are some tips to help you become a volunteer tourist.

Research is the first thing you should do if you are planning to be a volunteer tourist. Know what you are good at. It helps you find the appropriate opportunities therefore making your trip plan exciting. Once you know what you are good at, you can try to find the volunteer programs that match your skills, time and the cause you are supporting and plan your travel itinerary accordingly. Also, it is very important to have a passion for travel and social work.

Once you are done finalizing the program you are opting for, don’t forget to ask necessary questions before joining like, “How is the company working with the organization? What is that expected nature of a volunteer”?

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And then go for it and make the best out of it. WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a network of national organization which enables people to volunteer while travelling on organic farms. All you need to do is register for it and if you are selected, you then have to go and live at your hosts and are expected to cooperate with day to day activities. Sounds amazing right? It definitely is. You may have to work on making compost, sowing seeds, gardening, etc. This kind of work helps you grow as a person and you understand the situations of the people better.

Volunteer tourism is often promoted as a factor which helps the growth of tourism in a better way and to build better places for people to live in. It motivates people to work and stay with locals while travelling which in turn helps understand the culture better.

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Also, there are certain ways in which you can volunteer. One is where you join an organization which helps you connect with the volunteer programs and the other is where you travel on your own and volunteer. Many NGO offers such programs. Digital Nomading is the cousin of Volunteer Tourist. You can easily work and earn to fund your travels and also earn while travelling. This is called Digital Nomading. Your online appearance is important if you are planning to volunteer on your own. Your social network profile helps you get a better opportunity for different programs. Hence, keeping them updated with your work is an important step to becoming a volunteer tourist.

Another great way is a mobile application called, “Couch surfing” which help you stay at locals instead of hotels when you travel. Sounds exciting right? It is. You can work at the place you are staying which gives you a whole new perspective, experience and sometimes a few bucks too.

On a final note, being a Volunteer tourist may sound like a boring thing to do or to be but it absolutely is not. After all, Travelling is all about taking new experiences, meeting new people and finding yourself .So go out, be there, experience it and live your life.