Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Alternative Tourism And Development: Implications For International Study Abroad And Volunteer Programs In The Global South, Avery E. Dwyer

Senior Theses and Projects

Recent years have seen rising interest among Western travelers in the so-called “Global South” or “developing world,” especially through experiences that fall under the umbrella term of “alternative tourism.” Many travelers engage in this type of tourism through experiences in either one or both of alternative tourism’s most popular sub-genres: alternative study abroad and volunteer tourism. With many of these programs either implicitly or explicitly geared toward development, this paper discusses the possible development-related consequences upon the places in which they operate. It traces origins and causes of alternative tourism’s rise, and explains how it has come to be associated …