Tourism is an important industry in Latin American countries. In many countries it drives a large portion of the economy and it bolsters small business in popular cities. Tourism can have varying affects on the people, culture, and environment of a location. While people often benefit economically from tourism and culture is spread around the world, tourism can also lead to abusive industries, which exploit people, and a commodification of culture. While tourism can be a double sided coin, my experiences with tourism and service-learning have been mostly positive. 
I have had the good fortune to be able to visit Latin America multiple times. While my family is Cuban-American, I haven't had the chance to visit the island. I would love to make it to Cuba one day. In Latin America I've visited both Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
My family loves Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Most summers we would go down to the Dominican Republic and stay at a friend's home. I have been both a tourist and a volunteer in the Dominican Republic. I've come to know Dominican culture quite well, through the various opportunities I have had to interact with residents.
I have also visited Nicaragua. Last winter break, I traveled to the city of Jinotega with a couple of friends from Dartmouth. We volunteered at a service organization called AVODEC. We were able to participate in several volunteer projects through this organization. My friend and I translated the AVODEC website into English, we also created a crowdsourcing profile for them, through which they could raise funds to subsidize their construction projects. Two of my other friends volunteered for the local casa materna. This was an incredibly rewarding experience. Perhaps the biggest difference I noted about my interactions in the two places was the goal or purpose. I feel like my service in the Dominican Republic took the form of "voluntourism" and my service in Nicaragua was more of a service-learning trip. While I feel like I did meaningful work in both countries, my focus was much more directed to service in Nicaragua. Whereas, in the Dominican Republic it was just a part of my overall experience. I felt as if the connections I made and the effort I put forth in my service-learning trip to Nicaragua were more rewarding and beneficial for me and the community I was trying to help
I think it's important that we make the distinction between "voluntourism" and service-learning. While, "voluntourism" may open the eyes of many tourists, it shouldn't be the model sought by those wanting to do meaningful service. Service-Learning, on the other hand, provides a much better model for service work. It creates a more involved atmosphere, that is conducive to positive change. Service-Learning is a back and forth, it assumes that both parties gain from the interaction.