The Double-Edged Sword of Voluntourism: Balancing Community Development and Visitor Quality Experience

Abstract

Voluntourism has emerged as a novelty paradigm for community development and ensuring visitor quality experience, yet its paradoxical impacts remain underexplored through empirical frameworks in tourism literature. This study addresses such gap by investigating how voluntourism simultaneously enhances and interrupts sustainable outcomes for host communities and visitor quality experience. Using a robust quantitative approach, the researcher integrates Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to examine five latent constructs: Positive Impacts (PI), Negative Impacts (NI), Ethical and Sustainable Practices (ESP), Visitor Quality Experience (VQE), and Community Development (CD). Data were collected from purposively selected 507 respondents from peripheral districts of Kathmandu through structured questionnaires featuring 24 observed variables measured on a 5-point Likert scale, ensuring comprehensive coverage of socioeconomic, psychosocial, and infrastructural dimensions. The result analysis demonstrates a strong model reliability with Cronbach's α: 0.74-0.90 and validity (AVE > 0.50). Results further reveal significant dual pathways: PI (β = 0.412, p < 0.001) and ESP (β = 0.541, p < 0.001) voluntourism improve CD and VQE. Notably, CD mediates the ESP→VQE relationship (β = 0.278, p < 0.001), emphasizing its vital bridging role. This research contributes three key advancements: (1) a novel SEM framework for quantifying voluntourism's dual effects, (2) empirical identification of ESP as a vital mediator, and (3) South Asian evidence challenging Western-dominated mass tourism narratives. Practical implications of this research call for policymakers and NGOs to implement ethical training programs, align volunteer expectations at destinations with community needs, and establish monitoring mechanisms for minimizing negative impacts. Academically, this study provides a replicable model for analyzing sustainability paradoxes in tourism literature.