Volunteer Tourists’ Motivation and Satisfaction: A Case of Batu Puteh Village Kinabatangan Borneo

• Published in: Procedia, social and behavioral sciences Vol. 224; pp. 308 - 316
• Main Authors: Polus, Reni Cacillia, Bidder, Christy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15.06.2016
• Subjects: importance-performance analysis; tourist satisfaction; volunteer tourism; tourist satisfaction; importance-performance analysis; volunteer tourism
• ISSN: 1877-0428; 1877-0428
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.490

Volunteer tourism experiences represent a combination of both voluntary work and travel. The success of a volunteer program lies in its ability to create a balance between opportunities to learn, experience new things, have fun, and contribute to worthwhile projects. Using the Volunteer Program at Batu Puteh Village in Kinabatangan, Malaysian Borneo as the case study, the present study determines the factors that drive individuals to participate in the program. It also examines volunteer tourists’ satisfaction with their volunteer tourism experiences. Additionally, the present study looks at the relationship between volunteer tourists’ satisfaction level and their behavioral intention. The results of the study demonstrate that volunteer tourists of the Batu Puteh Volunteer Program came with a desire to experience something completely new and to interact with local people. The study also reveals a significant difference between the expectations and perceptions of the volunteer tourism experience attributes. Despite the gap, the overall satisfaction level leans toward the high point of the satisfaction scale, suggesting that Batu Puteh Village provides a satisfactory volunteer tourism experience.