Cambodia: Orphan tourism | 101 East

Cambodia’s beautiful temples and dark history attracts tourists from across the world.

But many of today’s holidaymakers want to do more than sightseeing, with a growing number volunteering their time, energy and skills for free.

From schools to orphanages, they hope their efforts will have a positive impact on the country. But critics claim that such good intentions are having a negative impact, with some orphanages creating a booming business trading on guilt.

There are reports of orphanages using children with parents to pose as orphans, of wealthy tourists depriving local workers from getting much-needed jobs, and of orphans forming emotional attachments to volunteers and facing more trauma when they leave.

On this edition of 101 East , we ask if volunteer tourism does more harm than good for the people of Cambodia.

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