WWOOFing in Australia: ideas and lessons for a de-commodified sustainability tourism

Deville, A; Wearing, S; McDonald, M

WWOOFing in Australia: ideas and lessons for a de-commodified sustainability tourism

Deville, A Wearing, S

McDonald, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2016, 24 (1), pp. 91 - 113
Issue Date:: 2016-01-02

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Deville, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Wearing, S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5158-059X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	McDonald, M	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-01-02	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2016, 24 (1), pp. 91 - 113	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0966-9582	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/39482
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 Taylor & Francis. This paper considers Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOFing) as a form of sustainable tourism with particular focus on its social and cultural dimensions and the means by which deep engagement in these appear to lead participants to a better awareness or understanding of ecological sustainability issues. It draws upon a grounded theory-based exploration of the perspectives and interactions of WWOOFers and WWOOF hosts in Australia, using 323 formal written surveys of hosts and 188 surveys of WWOOFers, together with 16 in-depth unstructured WWOOFer interviews, which collectively enhances understanding of WWOOFing as an emerging, unique and valuable form of sustainable tourism. By virtue of the highly engaged and symbiotic basis of the exchange involved, WWOOFing is commonly perceived to facilitate a transcendence of the role of tourist. The research indicates this is the product of a unique relationship forged in the WWOOFing context, which differs markedly to relationships forged in more typical fee-for-service tourism contexts in which there is a different relationship at play between power, authenticity and sustainability. This relationship is outlined in order to articulate the notion that WWOOFing represents a type of “sustainability tourism” that is unexplored in the sustainable tourism literature.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Sustainable Tourism	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/09669582.2015.1049607	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Sport, Leisure & Tourism	en_US
dc.title	WWOOFing in Australia: ideas and lessons for a de-commodified sustainability tourism	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	24	en_US
utslib.for	1506 Tourism	en_US
utslib.for	1503 Business and Management	en_US
utslib.for	1604 Human Geography	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Management Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	24	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 Taylor & Francis. This paper considers Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOFing) as a form of sustainable tourism with particular focus on its social and cultural dimensions and the means by which deep engagement in these appear to lead participants to a better awareness or understanding of ecological sustainability issues. It draws upon a grounded theory-based exploration of the perspectives and interactions of WWOOFers and WWOOF hosts in Australia, using 323 formal written surveys of hosts and 188 surveys of WWOOFers, together with 16 in-depth unstructured WWOOFer interviews, which collectively enhances understanding of WWOOFing as an emerging, unique and valuable form of sustainable tourism. By virtue of the highly engaged and symbiotic basis of the exchange involved, WWOOFing is commonly perceived to facilitate a transcendence of the role of tourist. The research indicates this is the product of a unique relationship forged in the WWOOFing context, which differs markedly to relationships forged in more typical fee-for-service tourism contexts in which there is a different relationship at play between power, authenticity and sustainability. This relationship is outlined in order to articulate the notion that WWOOFing represents a type of “sustainability tourism” that is unexplored in the sustainable tourism literature.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/39482