Paintbrushes to Pruners: Tourism Professionals with a Purpose

Volunteer tourism research has studied individual motives to participating in development work overseas. There is, however, an absence of research examining what influences corporate or individual employees to volunteer for tourism related activities as ambassadors or representatives of their organization within their own country. Twenty-three interviews were conducted with tourism professionals attending the November 1 and 2, 2015 Tourism Cares event in Williams, Arizona (a town adjacent to the Grand Canyon). Findings suggest tourism professionals’ motives to volunteer (personal, relationship building and social responsibility) have linkages to the common good approach. Study implications can be beneficial for employee-volunteer management, and business ethics, as well as contribution to corporate social responsibility, sustainable tourism, and volunteer tourism research. Key Words: Corporate social responsibility, Individual social responsibility, Volunteer tourism, Sustainable tourism, Corporate volunteer programs, Business ethics, Common good approach