Quit the job, packed the bags, and set off around the world... and what could placate worried parents more than a photo of the happy traveller volunteering in a Third World orphanage? Often sandwiched somewhere between skydiving and beach bumming, there is a tendency to add a spot of volunteering to any long-term trip.

The mantra is that travellers must also be giving something back to the enchanting yet impoverished communities they visit. It often comes from a genuinely philanthropic perspective. Although it often translates to ‘let’s spend two weeks playing with some cute barefoot kids and feel part of a local community’.

‘Meaningful travel’ are tourism’s current buzzwords. But volunteer tourism is a murky multi-billion dollar industry, and working in South Africa, I saw it from many angles.

I lost count of the number of gap year teenagers who believed volunteering in a South African township constituted posting innumerable photos of themselves with black kids on Facebook

From naïve 18-year-olds who wanted to spend every day with the same photogenic child sitting on their knee; to qualified teachers who would have made a significantly bigger difference if their budget could stretch to staying for longer.

I witnessed non-profit organisations who had transformed communities and those that rewrote definitions of fraudulence.

The industry initially developed in the early 1990s as large travel companies looked to niche products that could be sold to long-term travellers. Most around-the-world backpackers happily travelled from place to place without ever having to use a high street travel agent, other than perhaps a few plane tickets.

The basic premise was that people paid to volunteer.

And it’s not cheap. Most volunteer packages now come in at around €200 to €250 a week; that’s more than somebody would spend simply travelling in the region. From an office in Europe, the travel agent could now make a commission on a two- to 12-week volunteer package.

Whether it’s ethical to ask people to pay to volunteer has long been debated. There are still thousands of communities across the world that will happily accept volunteers for free. They’re rarely advertised, and working in these places requires a huge degree of initiative and confidence.

Hosting volunteers costs a community money. How beneficial is an unqualified, timid backpacker who doesn’t speak the local language and only wants to help for two weeks?

You could see it as a job application. If the candidate isn’t strong enough then why not ask them to pay for the job?

Let’s not forget that volunteering holds a certain travellers’ kudos. Across all of Africa, the majority of foreigners have done some form of volunteering. Helping out in a city school for a week is entry-level coolness. Living in the bush with a rural community raises the stakes.

Helping on a HIV project trumps computer-awareness training. Around a swimming pool, backpackers boast selfishly about who has helped the most.

But where is all the money going? There are certainly great examples. Madventurer clearly distinguishes trip costs and charity donations. Each volunteer must pay around €60 a week for food and accommodation, and then is given support to raise a minimum level of sponsorship.

However, this industry has no clear legal guidance. In many cases, a profit-making company is exploiting local life and selling it as a tourist attraction: “Experience rural African life; come interact with rescued cheetahs; learn about genuine rural village life.”

I’ve seen many dubious animal-related volunteer programmes run by private game reserves in South Africa. For upwards of €100 a day, ‘volunteers’ are given menial tasks like repairing fences and the odd personal interaction with a wild cat or elephant.

Great white shark conservation is also huge business in South Africa. Volunteers not only pay, they often take the job of a local who would be employed to complete the laborious tasks of cleaning boats and giving out lifejackets to tourists on board.

The profit-making bad elements of volunteer tourism cleverly make their pitch. They offer exactly what the volunteer wants, as opposed to what the community might need. By playing on the selfish aspect of volunteering, they are able to cajole a basic humanitarian instinct into a tidy profit.

Nobody should discount or deny the personal benefits derived from volunteering. It makes people feel good and helps them grow and develop as individuals.

However, in the murky world of volunteer tourism there has to be more onus on the motivations to volunteer. Wanting to please parents or have a ‘cool’ experience only reinforces the profit -making cycle.

I lost count of the number of gap year teenagers who believed volunteering in a South African township constituted posting innumerable photos of themselves with black kids on Facebook. After two weeks they’d contributed nothing but promote their favourite child as a helpless charity case that needed rescuing.

For those volunteers, I was immensely relieved that we charged compulsory donations. The good volunteers were those that either asked “how can I help?” or had a particular skill or talent they could donate.

Dispelling this industry and declaring it a hindrance would deny some of the excellent work done by non-profit organisations across the world. But blindly believing in its helpfulness only pushes it further towards profit-making and exploitation.

Without question, there is need for greater regulation in ensuring organisations and tour companies are responsible. Yet there is also a need for would-be volunteers to be more responsible in their choices.

How to make responsible choices

“People should do their research before they book, and check whether it’s a registered non-profit organisation,” says Carla Ferreira, executive board member at the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation.

“They also need to look carefully at where their money is going. Find out whether it is only going towards unavoidable costs and/or as a donation to a non-profit organisation.

“Ask questions on the organisation and look at contacting previous volunteers,” she continues.

“Stay for longer. It’s hard to have much of an impact in just two weeks. It usually takes this amount of time just to get used to the challenges and working environment. By volunteering for longer, people build stronger bonds with communities and can support these communities more effectively. Good non-profit organisations will offer significantly lower rates for volunteers who want to stay for longer.”