Muniz-Solari, Osvaldo A.Wilson, Rachel Leigh2016-01-202016-01-202015-12Wilson, R. L. (2015). Volunteer tourism: Cross-cultural understanding through the volunteer experience (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.https://hdl.handle.net/10877/5948Volunteer tourism is a growing form of tourism. Although volunteer tourism is a form of traveling, it should not be considered part of the mass tourism industry. The purpose of volunteer tourism is to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between volunteers/travelers and their respective host countries. This tourism experience should allow for volunteers to develop a sense of self-awareness as well as to develop a deeper cross-cultural understanding. Through exploring their narratives, this paper will examine the development of that cross-cultural understanding in people who have participated or would like to participate in volunteer tourism programs in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This paper expects to discover that both groups develop a greater cross-cultural understanding from their experiences within global communities. Although critics see volunteer tourism as being a selfish enforcement of colonialist stereotypes, it potentially offers volunteers an opportunity to interact with the host community in a positive manner, resulting in a respect for and understanding of the host country’s culture.Text23 pages1 file (.pdf)envolunteervolunteer tourismvoluntourismcross-cultural understandingcultural relationsexperiential learningsustainable tourismThesis