Volunteer tourism as a tool for the post-war recovery of Ukraine: current challenges and development prospects

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26565/2310-9513-2026-23-12
Keywords: volunteer tourism, voluntourism, post-war recovery, social solidarity, responsible tourism, civil society, humanitarian diplomacy

Abstract

This article examines the role of volunteer tourism as a tool for Ukraine's post-war recovery in the context of military aggression, extensive destruction, and the transformation of the socio-economic environment. It is substantiated that volunteer tourism is acquiring strategic importance as a mechanism for mobilizing human, social, and organizational capital, thereby contributing to the recovery of local communities, strengthening social cohesion, and promoting the principles of sustainable development. The study demonstrates that contemporary volunteer tourism practices combine humanitarian activities with tourist mobility, creating a new model of responsible tourism aimed at generating public benefit. The purpose of this study is to determine the role of volunteer tourism in Ukraine's post-war recovery, to analyze the factors influencing its development, and to identify current challenges and prospects for its institutionalization. The subject of the research comprises the organizational, economic, and institutional mechanisms of volunteer tourism development, as well as the socio-economic relationships emerging from the integration of volunteer activities and tourist mobility. The methodological framework is based on a systems approach, methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative, historical, and statistical analyses, generalization, as well as institutional and socio-economic approaches. These methods made it possible to evaluate international experience, identify the specific features of volunteer tourism development in Ukraine, and determine directions for its integration into post-war recovery strategies. The findings systematize the institutional models of volunteer tourism organization, identify the key motivational factors driving volunteer participation, and substantiate its multiplier effect on the development of local communities. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of applying its results to the formulation of state post-war recovery policies, the improvement of coordination mechanisms for volunteer initiatives, the development of digital volunteer tourism platforms, and the education and training of specialists in tourism, management, and humanitarian diplomacy.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

/

References

Published
2026-05-30
Cited
How to Cite
Hanna Haponenko, Mykola Pysarevskiy, & Irina Shamara. (2026). Volunteer tourism as a tool for the post-war recovery of Ukraine: current challenges and development prospects. The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: International Relations. Economics. Country Studies. Tourism, (23), 144-160. https://doi.org/10.26565/2310-9513-2026-23-12
Issue
No. 23 (2026): The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University Series «International Relations. Economics. Country Studies. Tourism»
Section
Tourism and hospitality research

Authors submitting publications for this edition agree to the following terms:

  • The authors retain the copyright to their publications and grant the journal “The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: International Relations. Economics. Country Studies. Tourism” for the right of first publication.
  • Submission and acceptance of a publication to the journal means that the authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and archive the material in print and electronic form and to include it in international abstracting and bibliographic databases.
  • Authors may:
  • deposit the published version of their work in institutional or disciplinary repositories,
  • distribute it on personal or professional web pages,
  • use the material for educational or research purposes,

provided that:

  • the publication is not altered,
  • it is not used for commercial purposes,
  • a complete bibliographic reference for the publication in the journal is provided.

 Authors' Responsibility

  • The authors guarantee that the submitted publication is an original work and does not infringe on the copyrights or intellectual property of third parties.
  • The authors confirm that this manuscript has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another publisher.
  • If the publication uses materials (figures, tables, data, etc.) belonging to third parties, the authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions and for correctly citing the sources.

Publisher's Responsibility

  • This publication ensures a transparent and ethical publication process, as well as open access to all materials in accordance with the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
  • The publication guarantees long-term digital preservation of content by archiving it in internal and external repositories.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication of this work under the terms of a license Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.