As many, including the op, have commented I too would not be prepared to contribute to what is essentially no more than an excuse for a fancy holiday.
But for some young people exposure to a different culture can lead to a lasting interest in volunteering either overseas or in this country. Please don’t jump on what I am about to say as “virtue signalling” about my own daughter. That is not my intention, though I will admit to being very proud of her! I simply want to show another perspective to young people travelling abroad.
One youngest daughter had the chance in the 90’s to help in a summer camp for children in a very deprived area of Romania. At 16 she was the youngest person in the team, led by a church youth worker, as parents we covered the cost of her trip. At 18 she went to South Africa, again the youngest in a team, on a trip organised by a well established charity. She spent 3 weeks helping demolish old buildings so that skilled labour could build a new school, as well as helping in a play scheme for orphaned children. There were a few days allocated for sight seeing at the end of the trip. This time earnings from her Saturday job and some help from family paid for her trip.
Fast forward several years and as a qualified physio she took a 6 month unpaid career break. She spent 6 months as a volunteer in Uganda using her professional skills to treat disabled children, again in projects supported by established charities. For this venture she was expected to fundraise to cover her costs for travel, accommodation and living expenses etc. She’d been saving hard to do this and felt uncomfortable asking for money so, apart from contributions from family and a few close friends, mainly used her own resources to fund her trip. Fast forward another few years and she has, at her own expense, visted Africa twice more for short trips volunteering with a menstrual health education project for young women.
Now in her late 30’s with mortgage commitments and a very demanding job, it’s becoming harder for her to volunteer in that way - she needs less demanding breaks these days! However I can’t imagine her ever losing the interest in overseas projects that was first sparked by the trip to Romania. So yes for some youngsters it’s no more than a bit of a “jolly” at others people’s expense but that’s not always the case.