PhD Study : Volunteering as a Driver for Sustainable Tourism Development

Summary

Northern Ireland has seen a significant growth in tourism numbers over the last three years (NISRA 2019). While this is a welcome development, the current void in executive and legislative tourism governance due to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a lack of a sustainable tourism strategy leaves the country exposed to fast-paced, uncontrolled and unquestioned tourism development. With limited executive governance and strategic focus on sustainability, the relevance of the ‘third governance’ paradigm – namely community participation – is becoming increasingly important (Kwiatkowski et al. 2019).

Volunteering as a form of community participation is well-established in the UK. 27% of the adult population in NI have participated in a volunteering activity in 2018 (DfC 2019). “Volunteering is un-coerced, intentionally productive, altruistic activity engaged in during free time.” (Stebbins and Elkington 2014, p. 17). While traditionally in the domain of the charity sector, volunteer activity has been seen to have a positive impact on tourism. For example, organised volunteer litter picks in parks and on beaches are inadvertently improving the tourism product. Since 2012, volunteers have removed over 1,000,000 pieces of litter from the Northern Irish coastline (KNIB 2019). Many parks, gardens, estates and heritage sites rely on volunteers to carry out conservation, preservation and educational activities.

This PhD research project proposes an investigation into the power of volunteering as a driver for sustainable tourism development. Previous researches have made advances into the potential of volunteering and ‘third governance’ tourism development on a case study basis (see Cheng et al. 2019, Germann Molz 2016, Kwiatkowski et al. 2019, Miller 2018).

This proposed research aims to harness the potential of community participation through volunteering for sustainable tourism development, by developing an original Volunteer Participation Framework aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Developing such a framework should assist policy-makers, tourism planners and volunteer organisations to promote and facilitate community volunteering, thereby fostering destination stewardship, the third governance paradigm and ultimately an improved tourism product, development and infrastructure.

Volunteering can take many forms. It can be either a serious or casual and is driven by both altruistic and self-interest motives (Stebbins and Elkington 2014). It is underpinned by activism, education and creating social good (Measham and Barnett 2008). Volunteers tend to inhabit distinct social worlds (Bendle and Patterson 2008) and use associational structures to compose their activities and sense of belongingness (Smith 2000). Building on Unruh’s (1979) theory of participation in social worlds, a symbolic interactionist approach to this research is recommended.

A qualitative investigation of volunteering behaviour should be mapped against the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In so doing, a holistic approach to sustainable tourism development and ‘third governance’ can be achieved.

Potential outputs and recommendations from an SDG-driven volunteer framework could be:

1) environmental (SDGs 6, 7, 13, 14 and 15) for coastal management, protecting natural, and built heritage and sustainable transport;

2) societal (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) for host community involvement, training and education, and social enterprise;

3) economic (SDGs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) for skills and employment needs, infrastructure needs, and addressing seasonality; and

4) governance-related (SDGs 16 and 17) for management organisations, policy changes and new partnerships.

References:

Bendle, L. J., & Patterson, I. (2008). Network density, centrality, and communication in a serious leisure social world. Annals of Leisure Research, 11(1-2), 1-19.

Cheng, T. M., Wu, H. C., Wang, J. T. M., & Wu, M. R. (2019). Community Participation as a mediating factor on residents’ attitudes towards sustainable tourism development and their personal environmentally responsible behaviour. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(14), 1764-1782.

DfC (2019) Experience of volunteering by adults in Northern Ireland: Findings from the Continuous Household Survey 2018/19.

Belfast: Department for Communities. Elkington, S., & Stebbins, R. A. (2014).

The serious leisure perspective: An introduction. London: Routledge. Germann Molz, J. (2016). Making a difference together: discourses of transformation in family voluntourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(6), 805-823.

KNIB (2019) Marine Litter Report 2018. Belfast: Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful. Kwiatkowski, G., Hjalager, A. M., Liburd, J., & Saabye Simonsen, P. (2019). Volunteering and collaborative governance innovation in the Wadden Sea National Park.

Current Issues in Tourism, 1-19.

Measham, T. G., & Barnett, G. B. (2008). Environmental volunteering: Motivations, modes and outcomes. Australian Geographer, 39(4), 537-552.

Miller, E. (2018). “My hobby is global warming and peak oil”: sustainability as serious leisure. World Leisure Journal, 60(3), 209-220.

NISRA (2019) Northern Ireland Annual Tourism Statistics 2018.

Belfast: NISRA. Smith, D. H. (2000).

Grassroots associations. Thousand Oaks, C.A.: Sage Publications. Unruh, D. R. (1979). Characteristics and types of participation in social worlds. Symbolic interaction, 2(2), 115-130.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
• Research proposal of 2000 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project
• A demonstrable interest in the research area associated with the studentship

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• Masters at 65%
• Research project completion within taught Masters degree or MRES

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living