ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the motivations of medical volunteer tourists (MVTs) as well as the ethical concerns relating to medical volunteer tourism (MVT) and is based on an empirical qualitative case study from Cusco, Peru. MVTs refer to volunteer tourists (VTs) volunteering within a medical capacity, and MVT is presented here as being at the cross-roads of volunteer tourism (VT) and scientific tourism (ST). Scientific tourists (STs) and VTs share many similarities; Benson (2005), Mieczkowski (1995) and Wearing (2001) have previously drawn connections between the two groups. Earlier research has also explored the motivations and experiences of VTs assisting with scientific research and conservation activities (e.g. Campbell & Smith, 2006; Chen & Chen, 2011; Clifton & Benson, 2006; Lepp, 2008). ST and VT are often grouped together under ecotourism (e.g. Benson, 2005; Clifton & Benson, 2006; Wearing, 2001) or as forms of education-related travel (e.g. Kask, Kline, & Lamoureux, 2011; Pearce, 2005). Many VT organisations evolved from a tradition of overseas volunteer organisations that focused on community service, medical assistance and scientific discovery projects (Wearing, 2001). Early programmes that formed the basis of what VT has become, for example Operation Drake and Operation Raleigh, provided outdoor group activities (Chapman, 1982), and science/health projects were fundamental to many of these programmes. In examining the existing literature, we find that MVT can be viewed as falling within both ST and VT. MVT does not provide a direct match with either but rather overlaps with ST with respect to the scientific ideas of learning and developing professional experience while simultaneously aligning with VT and the idea of volunteering in order to help and gain knowledge of other cultures. In this chapter we explore the idea of MVT as a sub-section of both ST and VT, and this then provides the basis for an analysis of (1) the motivations of MVTs at the case study site and (2) potential ethical issues surrounding MVT.
