Skip to content
Journal On Tourism & Sustainability/JOURNAL ON TOURISM & SUSTAINABILITY/Article
Article recordVersion of recordOpen accessVol. 2 No. 1 (2018): JOURNAL ON TOURISM & SUSTAINABILITYMay 30, 2026DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20464838

Refugee Crisis And Volunteer Tourism In Lesvos, Greece

In recent years, Greece has become one of the main gateways for immigrants and refugees seeking safety in Europe. The enormous humanitarian crisis that has taken place mainly on the northeastern Aegean islands has promp…

  • Contributor 1
  • Contributor 2

Reader actions

Resolve identifiers and download the published files.

View DOIDownload PDF
Abstract
Reader HTML view for the published article record.

In recent years, Greece has become one of the main gateways for immigrants and refugees seeking safety in Europe. The enormous humanitarian crisis that has taken place mainly on the northeastern Aegean islands has prompted the activation of dozens of organizations and thousands of volunteers. The aim of this study is to examine the profile, motivations and on-site experiences of volunteer tourists who operated on the island of Lesvos in Greece to deal with the refugee crisis. Survey was conducted in a sample of 107 volunteers. The results of the study revealed three altruistic motivations: to help people in need, to do something meaningful and worthwhile, and to work with an organization whose mission they support. Moreover, when choosing a destination to offer their voluntary services, volunteer tourists take into account mainly two factors: the level of need in the destination and the safety in the destination. Volunteers’ perceptions of best experiences were largely linked to the concept of altruism and the social dimension of volunteer tourism, whereas worst experiences highlighted the themes of dead refugees, especially children, and the lack of adequate means to face the massive influx of refugees in the island. Findings and discussion of this study are useful to academic researchers and organizations (NGOs, volunteer organizations, community stakeholders) interested in volunteer tourism. Keywords: Refugees, Volunteers, Voluntourism, Motivations, Lesvos, Greece

References
Publication output reuses the stored scholarly reference text rather than a second reference system.
  1. 1.Anderson, E. & Cairncross, G. (2005) Understanding and managing volunteer motivation: two regional tourism cases. Australian Journal on Volunteering , 10(2), 7 - 17.
  2. 2.Benson, A. & Seibert, N. (2009) Volunteer tourism: Motivations of German participants in South Africa. Annals of Leisure Research , 12(3 - 4), 295 - 314.
  3. 3.Broad, S. and Jenkins, J. (2008) Gibbons in their Midst? Conservation Volunteers’ Motivations at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, Phuket, Thailand. In K.D. Lyons and S. Wearing (Eds.). Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism (pp. 72 - 85). Oxfordshire: CABI.
  4. 4.Brown, S. (2005) Travelling with a Purpose: Understanding the Motives and Benefits of Volunteer Vacationers. Current Issues in Tourism , 8(6), 479 - 496.
  5. 5.Chen, L.J. & Chen, J.S. (2011) The motivations and expectations of international volunteer tourists : A case study of “Chinese Village Traditions”. Tourism Management, 32: 435 - 442.
  6. 6.Chtouris, S. & Miller, D.S. (2017) Refugee Flows and Volunteers in the Current Humanitarian Crisis in Greece. Journal of Applied Security Research , 12(1): 61 - 77.
  7. 7.Coghlan, A. & Fennell, D. (2009) Myth or substance: An examination of altruism as the basis of volunteer tourism. Annals of Leisure Research, 12(3 - 4): 377 - 402.
  8. 8.Cretu, B. (2015) How Syria’s neighbors and the European Union are handling the refugee crisis. Romanian Journ al of History and International Studies , 2(2), 245 - 262.
  9. 9.Daldeniz, B. and Hampton, M.P. (2011) VOLUNtourists versus volunTOURISTS. A true dichotomy or merely a differing perception? In A.M. Benson (Ed.), Volunteer Tourism. Theory Framework to Practical Appl ications (pp. 30 - 41). Oxon: Routledge.
  10. 10.Gage III, R.L. & Thapa, B. (2012) Volunteer Motivations and Constraints Among College Students: Analysis of the Volunteer Function Inventory and Leisure Constraints Models. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly , 41 (3), 405 - 430.
  11. 11.Galley, G. & Clifton, J. (2004) The Motivational and Demographic Characteristics of Research Ecotourists: Operation Wallacea Volunteers in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Ecotourism , 3(1), 69 - 82.
  12. 12.Georgiou, H. (2016) Identification o f refugee influx patterns in Greece via model - theoretic analysis of daily arrivals. Available from: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1605.02784.pdf
  13. 13.Gkionakis, N. (2016) The refugee crisis in Greece: training border security, police, volunteers and aid workers in psy chological first aid . Intervention , 14(1): 73 - 79.
  14. 14.Grabowski, S. (2013) Volunteer Tourists: Why Do They Do It? In S.L Wearing, and N.G. McGehee (Eds.), International Volunteer Tourism. Integrating Travellers and Communities (pp. 70 - 83). Oxfordshire: CABI.
  15. 15.G rimm, K.E. & Needham, M.D. (2012) Moving Beyond the “I” in Motivation: Attributes and Perceptions of Conservation Volunteer Tourists. Journal of Travel Research, 51(4): 488 - 501.
  16. 16.Guttentag, D. (2011) Volunteer Tourism: As Good as it Seems? Tourism Recreatio n Research , 36(1), 69 - 74.
  17. 17.Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (2018) Tourist Guide Available from: http://www.grhotels.gr/EN/Pages/default.aspx
  18. 18.Holmes, K. & Smith, K. (2009) Managing Volunteers in Tourism: Attractions, Destinations and Events . Burlington: Butterwor th - Heinemann.
  19. 19.Knollenberg, W., McGehee, N.G., Boley, B. & Clemmons, D. (2014) Motivation - based transformative learning and potential volunteer tourists: facilitating more sustainable outcomes. Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 22(6): 922 - 941. 54
  20. 20.Kolasa - Sikiarid i, K. (2016) Refugee Crisis Causes Drastic Drop in Tourism on Lesvos. Available from: https://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/07/06/refugee - crisis - causes - drastic - drop - in - tourism - on - lesvos/
  21. 21.Lee, S. & Yen, C. - L. (2015) Volunteer Tourists’ Motivation Change and Intended Participation. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , 20(4): 359 - 377.
  22. 22.Lo, A.S. & Lee, C.Y.S. (2011). Motivations and perceived value of volunteer tourists from Hong Kong. Tourism Management, 32 , 326 - 334.
  23. 23.Mittelberg, D. & Palgi, M. (2011) Self and society in voluntourism. A thirty - year retrospective analysis of post - trip self - development of volunteer tourists to the Israeli kibbutz. In: A.M. Benson (Ed.) Volunteer Tourism. Theory Framework to Practical Applications . Oxon: Routledge.
  24. 24.Mustonen, P. (2007) Volunteer Tourism – Altruism or Mere Tourism? Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research , 18(1): 97 - 115.
  25. 25.Otoo, F. E. (2013) Motivations of American volunteer tourists to Ghana. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure , 2(4), 1 - 12.
  26. 26.Pan, T.J. (2012) Motivations of volunteer overseas and what have we learned – The experience of Taiwanese students. Tourism Management, 33: 1493 - 1501.
  27. 27.Pappas, N. & Papatheodorou, A. (2017) Tourism and the refugee crisis in Greece: Perceptions and decision - making of accommodation providers. Tourism Management , 63 , 31 - 41.
  28. 28.Pegg, S., Patterson, I. & Matsumoto, Y. (2012) Understanding the Motivations of Volunteers Engaged in an Alternative Tourism Experience in Northern Australia. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management , 21(7), 800 - 820.
  29. 29.Proyrungroj, R. (2017) Orphan Vol unteer Tourism in Thailand: Volunteer Tourists’ Motivations and On - site Experiences. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research , 41(5), 560 - 584.
  30. 30.Rhoden, S., Ineson, E.M. & Ralston, R. (2009) Volunteer motivation in heritage railways: a study of the West Som erset Railway volunteers. Journal of Heritage Tourism , 4(1), 19 - 36.
  31. 31.Röslmaier, M. (2016) Exploring the Tourism - Refugee Nexus: From Global Mobility to Local Immobility . Master’s thesis, Mid Sweden University, Department of Social Science.
  32. 32.Rozali, E.M. (2016 ) Host Communities and the Refugee Crisis. A Case Study of Kos Island, Greece . Degree Project, Malmö University, Faculty of Culture and Society. th
  33. 33.Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2016) Research Methods for Business Students (7 Ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
  34. 34.Sekeris, P. & Vasilakis, C. (2016) The Mediterranean Refugees Crisis and Extreme Right Parties: Evidence from Greece. Available from: https://mpra.ub.uni - muenchen.de/72222/1/MPRA_paper_72222.pdf
  35. 35.Sin, H.L. (2009) Volunteer Tourism – “Inv olve me and I will learn”? Annals of Tourism Research , 36(3): 480 - 501.
  36. 36.Skanavis, C. & Kounani, A. (2016) The environmental impacts of refugees’ settlements at Lesvos Island. 13th International Conference on Protection and Restoration of the Environment , 3 - 8 July, Mykonos, Greece.
  37. 37.Soderman, N. and Snead, S.L. (2008) Opening the Gap: The Motivation of Gap Year Travellers to Volunteer in Latin America. In K.D. Lyons and S. Wearing (Eds.). Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism (pp. 118 - 129). Oxfordshire: CABI.
  38. 38.Tiessen, R. (2012 ) Motivations for Learn/Volunteer Abroad Programs: Research with Canadian Youth. Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education, 2 (1): 1 - 21.
  39. 39.Trihas, N., Antonaki, M. and Kouremenou, A. (2014) Beyond Sea , Sun and Sand: Volunteer Tourism as an Emerging Alternative Form of Tourism in Greece. International Conference “Cross - Cultural Issues in Tourism & Hospitality” , 14 - 16 May, Chania, Crete, Greece. 55
  40. 40.Tsoni, I. (2016) ‘They Won’t Let Us Come, They Won’t Let Us Stay, They Won’t Let Us Leave’. Liminality in the Aegean Borderscape: The Case of Irregular Migrants, Volunteers and Locals on Lesvos. Human Geography, 9(2): 35 - 46. UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency (2018) Refugees & Migrants Sea Arrivals in Europe. Available from: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/62023.pdf
  41. 41.Wearing , S . (2001) Volunteer Tourism. Experiences that Make a Difference . Oxon: CABI Publishing.
  42. 42.Wearing, S. & Grabowski, S. (2011) Volunteer tourism and intercultural exchange. Exploring the ‘Other’ in the experience. In: A.M. Benson (Ed.) Volunteer Tourism. Theory Framework to Practical Applications . Oxon: Routledge.
  43. 43.Wearing, S. & McGehe e , N . G . (2013) International Volunteer Tourism. Integrating Travellers and Communities . Oxfordshire: CABI.
  44. 44.Weaver, D. (2015) Volunteer tourism and beyond: motivations and barriers to participation in protected area enhancement. Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 23(5): 683 - 705.
  45. 45.Zahra, A. (2011) Volunteer tourism as a life - changing experience. In: A.M. Benson (Ed.) Volunteer Tourism. Theory Framework to Practical Applications . Oxon: Routledge.
  46. 46.Zahra, A., & McIntosh, A.J. (2007) Volunteer tourism: Evidence of cathartic tourist experiences. Tourism Recreation Research , 32 (1), 115 - 119. Contributors : Dr Nikolaos Trihas , Department of Business Administration, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Agios Nikolaos, Crete Greece; Dr Konstantinos Tsilimpokos Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean , Chios, Greece . Corresponding Author: Dr Nikolaos Trihas. Email: ntrihas@staff.teicrete.gr 56