Answer to Question #265320 in English for Arti Chand

Question

<span style="font-weight: bolder;"><i>Should you visit an orphanage (while on vacation)?”</i></span>

From a sustainable tourism perspective, what are issues surrounding visiting an orphanage? From the tourists’ perspective? From the hosts’ perspective?

Should Pacific Island Governments encourage more tourists to visit orphanages (as a tourist experience)? Why or Why not?

Answer 1

The tourists feel that Voluntourism in orphanages leaves children vulnerable to abuse where child protection regulations are lax. The hosts feel that it creates attachment problems in children who become close to short-term visitors and perpetuates the myth that many of these children are orphans in need of adoption.

They should not encourage it because in many countries, owning and running an orphanage has become a profitable business, with foreign donations serving as “revenue.” Many orphanages are unlicensed, with government subjecting them to little or no oversight. Babies and children can be subject to sexual abuse , organ harvesting and illegal adoptions.