It has been found in numerous other studies on tourism motivation, that a niche market, like the volunteer tourist market, is not homogenous. Generally there are overlapping motivations which can change over a given period of time and place. However, there is a distinct difference between the tourism experience and the volunteer tourism experience. The nature of the volunteer tourism experience is such that the volunteers work in collaboration with the community, usually in developing countries, to achieve development goals. In fact it is often argued that the nature of the volunteer tourism experience is such that the interaction between host and guest is more profound than in other forms of tourism (Zahra, A. and McIntosh, A.J., 2007). These volunteers need to be distinguished from volunTourists who are “vacation-minded” rather than “volunteer-minded”, where the volunteering component is often only a small portion of the whole trip. Volunteer tourists instead volunteer for the entire length of the trip. We can note that “volunteer tourists are ‘new tourists’ in search of an experience which is beyond that offered by mass tourism”. The experiences in volunteer tourism are seen to be more meaningful between the players of different cultural backgrounds. Therefore volunteer tourism is aligned with a wider range of values and behaviors than mainstream tourism. It has degrees of altruism and conservation of community benefits and development and generally attempts to act positively for both the environment and the host community. This makes the host communities that participate in volunteer tourism and their input and interaction an even more essential part of volunteer tourism than for usual mass tourism.

References 1. I to I Volunteering [Интернет- портал] – URL: http://www.i-to-i.com/about-volunteer-travel/ 2. VolunTourism [Интернет- портал] – URL: http://www.voluntourism.org/ 3. Callanan, M. and Thomas, S. (2005), “Volunteer tourism: Deconstructing volunteer activities within a dynamic environment”, Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issues, Trends and Cases, Amsterdam, pp. 183- 200. 4. Brown, S. and Lehto, X. (2005), “Travelling with a purpose: Understanding the motives and benefits of volunteer vacationers”, Current Issues in Tourism, no. 6, pp. 479–496 5. Lepp, A. (2008), “Discovering self and discovering others through the Taita Discovery Centre Volunteer Tourism Programme, Kenya”, in Lyons K. and Wearing, S. (eds), Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism: International Case Study Perspectives, Wallingford, UK: CABI, pp. 86-100 6. Wearing, S.L. (2001), Volunteer Tourism: Experiences that Make a Difference, New York, CABI Publishing. 7. Zahra, A. and McIntosh, A.J. (2007), “Volunteer tourism: Evidence of cathartic tourist experiences”, Tourism Recreation Research, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 115-119.

THE „“ AS A LOW DEVELOPED TOURISTIC REGION IN Caroline Prange, student Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany)

The Altmark (engl. Old March) is an old cultural landscape in the northern part of the eastern german state Saxony-Anhalt. The region´s historical significance based on its importance for the margraves. That´s why it is known as the „Cradle of Prussia“, like the native Otto von Bismarck called it. Because of its low developed character, the region is also often called as an area in the peripheral center of Germany. After the former border situation during the period of the German Democratic Republic, the region is now again located in the middle of Germany. The Altmark is situated between the cities , Hamburg and Hannover, west of the Elbe river. Today it consists of the two districts Altmarkkreis and . In its eastern part, the Altmark is bordered on the historical Prignitz region. In Saxony-Anhalt, in comparison with the other german states, the highest emigration trends are apparent. The Altmark, and in particular the district of Stendal, are by coupling emigration and demographic change particularly affected by this trend. The main economic activity in the low developed Altmark region is agriculture. In the last few years the use and processing of biomass and automotive supply industrie became more and more important for the economic rise. But the Altmark became interesting also for tourists. A traditional touristic region is the area around the spa place . It is a very small city in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel with less than 5000 inhabitants. Next to the city the biggest natural sea in Saxony-Anhalt – also called Arendsee – is located. In the summer months it is possible to go surfing, sailing, diving, hiking, biking and swimming there. In the city are only a few hotels, and the touristical situation is not really good. The city looks dead and many shops are empty. If you have bad weather within your holidays in Arendsee, there are not many options. Another popular touristical region in the Altmark is the Elbe river. There it is possible to use the „Elbe- Radweg“ and drive by bike along the river. The track is fully developed and it is possible to find a restaurant or small hotel along the way. So some bikers make a stop near the Elbe river when they make their tour from Dresden or Magdeburg to Hamburg or the other way round.

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There are some other touristical places in the region, but they are all not really important for the regional income. And one big reason for that is the bad infrastructural situation. The next big airport is 200 km away and to the next highway you need one hour to go by car. The touristical target group consists of germans from the big cities around - Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Magdeburg, Leipzig and so on. But they need too much time to travel with their own cars or by train from the cities to the Altmark region. That´s why they go to other similar regions nearby. There is nearly no other region in Germany, which is so bad connected to the national highway system, although there are plans for 80 years for the connectivitiy of the region. The plan was, and is also today, to connect the region by a northern extension of the federal highway 14 from Magdeburg to Schwerin with the national road network. The plans have become more serious in recent years and the first phase is under construction now. There are a lot of discussions about the building of the highway extension: Some people want to build it really fast, because they hope that the economic situation will become better with the new street. Others say, that the highway will destroy the natural and ecological balance of the region around. They think, that thereby the touristical attracitvity of the region will fall and not rise. The project of extending the national highway 14 is no special present for the Altmark region. It is a part of a national and european plan to connect the medditeranean sea with the baltic sea via streets. And that‘s why it is a transit highway and no highway for the people who wants to come to the Altmark region and visit it or sell something there. The new highway will not solve all the problems of the Altmark. But it is possible, that the regional economic growth will increase, like it was shown in other low developed states in eastern Germany after the completion of a new highway, like for example in Thuringia. And that‘s why the Altmark region should exploit the situation and try to get the best out of it. In the touristical sphere, the situation should be improved and developed in the same breath with the construction of the highway. The small cities along the highway should work together and a lively exchange is needed to make the best of the situation. And it is really important not to forget the critical voices and think about the environmental impact in every step of development. All in all it is important to improve the infrastructur in the region and receive the natural and historical character of the cultural landscape. Than it could be possible to be more attracive for the tourists in Germany and maybe also for tourists from other countries in Europe.

TOURISM IN THE PRIGNITZ – AN EASTERN GERMAN REGION Eilyne Pasche, student Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany)

Prignitz is the name of an administrative district and a historical landscape, which are nearly the same in size and extension. The Prignitz is located in the northwest of the federal state Brandenburg, in the northeast of Germany. Its size is about 2,100 qm² and the population about 80,000 inhabitants. It is one of the most thinly populated administrative districts in Germany. The county town is Perleberg, with about 12,300 inhabitants. Since the fall of the Berlin wall the Prignitz struggles with a strong migration, especially of young people. In the last 10 years more than 18 percent of the inhabitants migrated to other administrative districts or federal states, especially to Berlin. There are many problems, which result from this migration. For the administration department it is hard to maintain the full public service tasks. In particular it is hard to maintain the public transport infrastructure und to ensure the possibility for all children to attend a school, which is not located far away from the hometown of the children. The thinning of the local public transportation is proceeding. In addition to problems for children and young people, there is a big unsolved problem for seniors. Due to the fact that a lot places are not able to provide their inhabitants with the most needed facilities anymore, the seniors are dependent on having an own car, but with the beginning of a certain age, there is no possibility to drive a car by one’s own. So especially for young and old people the Prignitz seems to be very unattractive and a lot of them are leaving the region due to the lack of possibilities to be independent and to provide oneself with the most needed items. All those facts create an image of a really not well developed region with massive problems: So are tourists really interested in this region? Are they spending their holidays in this region? And which potentials does the region have? The tourism of a region is obviously influenced by the natural physiogeographic characteristics, the cultural heritages and the social infrastructure. The Prignitz is shaped by cultivated landscape, meadows, forests and lakes. The whole region is very natural and there are just some small cities, with an interesting and old town centre. In the whole region there is no metropolis. The nearest metropolises are Berlin, with about 150km distance und Hamburg with about 250km distance. For German standards this region is really isolated. The administration department tries to develop the tourism in the region. Therefore a tourism association was founded. The tourism association tries to bundle all touristic activities in the region and should be a contact point for potential interested tourists.

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