Designing a Volunteer Program

Abstract

Volunteers are important to the development and delivery of services and programs across varying levels and sectors within events, sport and tourism (EST). For instance, volunteer involvement in tourism includes volunteer tourists delivering community programs in developing countries, working in visitor centres and engaging with tourists. In sport, volunteers are predominantly responsible for running community clubs, while events require volunteers across all levels from local community to major international events such as world cups or the Olympic Games. Large events require a significant number of volunteers and would not be successful without the countless hours they contribute (Dickson, Terwiel & Buick, 2017). Event volunteers are so important that volunteering legacies have become a necessary component throughout the bidding process (Dickson, Darcy & Gadd, 2020). Thus, EST industries depend on volunteers to deliver key services to the community and their stakeholders. Volunteer roles in many sport, event and tourism settings are integral to the successful management and operation of many EST organisations.