The Growth of Social Tourism in Honduras

The fact is that there does indeed exist a “social tourism sector” of the Honduran economy, and it has been growing. This sector is a subset of the tourism sector, and thus it would seem that agencies such as the Tourism Institute should play a role in promoting and looking out for its interests.

By Marco Cáceres
There are thousands of expatriates and foreigners involved in work to help Honduras. Many of them who travel to Honduras to perform this work consider themselves missionaries, aid volunteers, or just good citizens of the world trying to help their native country or their fellow human beings. Most individuals who travel to Honduras to help out in some way can be defined as "social tourists". They go to Honduras for a limited period of time, and then they go back home to their families and their jobs.

I see that this type of activity is growing, and I believe that it is of great value to the Honduran people, notably to the poor. But I also see that this activity is of value to the Honduran economy, because when social tourists go on mission to Honduras, they also spend money in the country… on everything from food and lodging to transportation and tips and fees.

I think there is an appreciation of the impact that foreign volunteer workers have on the less fortunate. I do not think there is an understanding of the impact that these type of travelers have on business and employment in Honduras. An excellent case can be made that there is a need to provide enlightenment in this area in order to encourage public policy makers in Honduras to always keep in mind the interests of the “social tourism sector”.

It is my hope that whenever a law or a regulation is passed in Honduras it will not serve to discourage missionaries and aid volunteers from traveling to Honduras and continuing to help. There may be times when this happens inadvertently, such as in a case several years ago involving a law passed to prohibit the importation of vehicles that are over 10 years old. The legislation may have been introduced with the most wonderful of intentions. However, it did not take into account vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks that may be donated for emergency or humanitarian purposes.

The problem is that, for all the good that missionaries and aid volunteers do in Honduras, it is difficult to measure the impact of this contribution on the economy. And thus it is easy for policy makers to overlook the potential impact of some of their decisions on these individuals and groups. If these individuals and groups and the work that they perform represented a defined sector of the Honduran economy, we would be in a better position to prevent such oversights.

The fact is that there does indeed exist a “social tourism sector” of the Honduran economy, and it has been growing. This sector is a subset of the tourism sector, and thus it would seem that agencies such as the Tourism Institute should play a role in promoting and looking out for its interests. So should any public servant whose community relies on business generated by social tourists, directly or indirectly.

In order to look out for the interests of the social tourism sector, however, institutions in Honduras need to understand this sector. What is it? How big is it? What drives it? What stimulates it? What are its concerns? I think I have a pretty good grasp of what social tourism is, what kind of groups and people we’re talking about. I’m not sure how to measure its size, other than to estimate the number of groups and people. I think I understand some of the things that drive and stimulate it. But more information is needed.

Why do people abroad come to help Honduras? Why do they keep returning? What exactly do they get out of the experience? What do they most like about Honduras? And last but not least… What kind of things would discourage people from continuing to help and travel to Honduras? What worries them? What bothers and annoys them? What are the major roadblocks?

Once we adequately define the social tourism sector, the next step is simply to market the heck out of the term. When people talk about the Honduran economy, they should refer to the “social tourism sector" or “social tourism industry" as easily as they refer to the tourism, maquiladora, coffee, lumber, banana, shrimp, and cigar industries. When this is the case, then we’ll know that there is a true understanding of the contributions social tourists are making, and precisely what it is worth.

The goal of conveying this understanding is not to get people to glorify the work of social tourists. The goal is simply to make it easier for them to continue to do their work. (2/26/10) (photo courtesy Gilmour Academy)