INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER TOURISM AND LANDSCAPE RESTORATION IN NEW ZEALAND: THE STEERING AND ENABLING CONSERVATIONIST ROLE OF INBOUND OPERATORS
INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER TOURISM AND LANDSCAPE RESTORATION IN NEW ZEALAND: THE STEERING AND ENABLING CONSERVATIONIST ROLE OF INBOUND OPERATORS

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the enabling and steering role of a small-scale enterprise in managing volunteer-based programs, landscape restoration, and conservation, with gains for the participants, local com-munity and for the environment. Volunteer participants have had a broad learning possibility, specific skills development, and good feeling factor of giving something back to visited destinations in the country. The research has a qualitative orientation with active and participant observation and inter-views with key informants and was carried out in the Bay of Plenty. Kuaka New Zealand Education Travel is the main case study. Central to the research is identifying ‘how’ the stakeholders’ practices in volunteer-based tourism have been shaped and produced satisfactory overall outcomes in terms of landscape restoration. The results show that inbound volunteer-based enterprises can optimise their environmental, cultural, and educational role and outcomes, and its own financial endurance through key partnerships, as well as by creating business risk management strategies and by monitoring the participants` satisfaction. The paper also reveals that tourism and responsibility are not dissociated as organisations and enterprises seek to develop and manage genuine volunteer-programs with conser-vationist benefits to local destinations.

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