Going the distance: endurance philanthropy, spectacle, and development in Central America

Abstract

The increasing popularity of fusing adventure, humanitarianism, and travel has received attention from scholars within the fields of leisure and tourism studies, particularly regarding widespread activities such as volunteer tourism. Fewer have examined the phenomenon that we refer to as endurance philanthropy, in which participants journey long distances under challenging conditions to increase awareness and raise funds for specific causes. As more and more people become attuned to the idea, it is essential to interrogate the power dynamics and development discourses that frame such campaigns. To begin this necessary conversation, this paper investigates one subset of the endurance philanthropy movement: participants who have journeyed from North America to Central America to raise money and awareness for causes situated within the destination region. Using the lenses of spectacle and critical development, we analyze online media produced both by and about these journeyers. Our findings highlight key themes that weave across and through these events: actions not words, expedition completed, grit and determination, and donor commitment. We argue that these events – while emphasizing solidarity and advocating for social change – ultimately undermine the potential for such transformation due to the spectacular, individualizing, and apolitical characteristics of the campaigns. This results in the reproduction of neoliberal self-help models of progress, which reinforce the status quo and downplay larger structural issues that keep poverty and inequality in place.