Motivations of international volunteer tourists working with elephants in Thailand

This study examines the motivations of Western volunteer tourists at ElephantsWorld, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. An interpretive paradigm utilizing a qualitative research approach was adopted. The informants included 24 volunteer participants. Data were collected through a combination of semi-structured interviews and participant observation, and were analysed by thematic analysis. The findings of the research identify six main motivations: (i) to have close interactions with elephants; (ii) to gain in-depth understanding of local culture; (iii) to have new experiences; (iv) to relax; (v) a good match between the project/objective of the host organization and the tourists' needs and conditions; and (vi) the image and attractiveness of Thailand. These six motivations represent the co-existence of altruistic and self-interested motivations and their roles in influencing the decisions of animal-related volunteer tourists. They also indicate that while some volunteer respondents were driven by motivational factors related to the protection and well-being of the elephants (which is the objective of the volunteer tourism project), others were motivated by other, more self-interested factors that were not related to the main objective of the project at all.