Volunteer tourism (VT) traveler behavior: merging norm activation model and theory of planned behavior

Abstract

While volunteer tourism has been gaining in popularity around the world, few studies have looked into the travelers’ re-participation intention within a pro-social context. This study aimed to develop and test a new conceptual framework that explains the volunteer travelers’ behavioral intention formation in the context of a pro-social activity. It employed three theories, which include the norm activation model, the theory of planned behavior, and the personal values, as a theoretical basis that considers the altruistic and egoistic aspects of the travelers’ psychological response to volunteer tourism. A total of 375 quantitative surveys were obtained from Korean travelers who voluntarily completed a non-profit global volunteer tourism program during the spring in 2019. Using a structural equation modelling analysis, the study’s results verified that the proposed model connecting the personal values, the norm activation model, and the theory of planned behavior was a satisfactory predictive model that explains the travelers’ re-participation intention in volunteer tourism. Additionally, subjective well-being was found to be a significant moderator between the re-participation intention and its predictors. The study sheds light on the role of personal and social factors in volunteer tourism.