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622 visitor
many use commercial accommodation for all or part
of their trips.
References
Morrison, A. and O'Leary, J. �1995) `The VFR
market: desperately seeking respect', The Journal
of Tourism Studies 6�1): 2±5.
Further reading
Paci, E. �1994) `Market segments: the major
international VFR markets', EIU Travel and
Tourism Analyst 6: 36±50.
The Visiting Friends and Relatives Market �1995) special
issue of The Journal of Tourism Studies 6�1).
visitor
DONALD GETZ, CANADA
A visitor is someone who has left their residence to
spend time in a destination. Distance travelled,
length of stay or other criteria may be used to
define the term operationally. The World Tourism
Organization considers `visitor' to be the
basic unit for collecting tourism statistics.
Visitors consist of tourists �overnight visitors)
and excursionists �same-day visitors). Some researchers
use the visitor and tourist terms interchangeably.
STEPHEN SMITH, CANADA
visitor bureau see convention and visitor
bureau
voluntary sector
The voluntary sector in tourism comprises all the
activities and services provided on the basis of
volunteering, which in turn refers to unpaid work
accomplished within the context of a formal
business �public or private) or an association.
There are significant difficulties in measuring the
impact of the voluntary sector in tourism, as the
local authorities often tend to exaggerate the
involvement of residents in their community.
Further, organisations involved in this service
are often not coordinated enough to provide
reliable data for this purpose.
Reasons for emergence of the volunteering
phenomenon, in and beyond tourism, can be
related to the positive attitude that there is a
higher degree of life satisfaction to be gained in
helping people or serving the society. For governments,
the voluntary sector is sometimes viewed as
a substitute for the welfare state; for some people,
volunteering is a satisfactory substitute for work
�Cohen-Mansfield 1989).
In the tourism industry, volunteering can be
offered in relation to sport tourism, cultural
tourism and peace/religion tourism, among
others. In general, to express support for their
community, city or neighbourhood, people tend to
do voluntary tasks by helping visitors, especially
during local celebrations and special events, as
well as national or international events such as
sports competitions or exhibitions or Olympic
Games. Ecological or cleaning aims is a big part
of volunteering motivations, including the conservancy
of parks and gardens. For instance, over
1,200 neighbours from New York spent 35,000
hours painting benches and picking up rubbish at
Central Park in 1996 �El PaõÂs 1997). Another is
educational and cultural activities for foundations,
museums, schools or research centres, many of
which are often financed on the base of private
donations.
A voluntary service is usually accomplished or
coordinated within a non-profit organisation.
These or other associations can be found in many
tourism areas. In fact, the industry has a long
tradition of providing food and shelter during times
of crisis �earthquakes and other natural disasters)
and, more ordinarily, in big cities or urban areas.
The industry has also been committed to educational
efforts and fund-raising, to helping poor and
homeless people, both in the hospitality and
restaurant sectors. In fact, many restaurant
chains regularly donate their unused food to some
private or public agencies for redistribution to the
needy. Hotels also donate food, linen and furniture
to shelters and organisations and other appropriate
entities.