My qualitative research on the impacts of orphanage tourism on residential care centers in Cambodia

I just finished  my research for the International Centre of Responsible Tourism Management. It may be of interest to you. This is the executive summary. Are you also researching or reporting on this topic? Contact me for the full report!

Executive summary:

 

The research aim in this paper was to identify the impacts of `orphanage tourism` on residential care centers in Cambodia and provide recommendations to the centers and volunteer sending organisations. The objectives were to provide background information on the phenomenon of orphanage tourism/ childcare tourism in Cambodia and its social and economic impacts, to research the negative and positive impacts of orphanage tourism in Cambodia by interviewing the managers directors or volunteer coordinators of 9 residential care facilities and to develop recommendations and guidelines for the residential care centers and volunteer organisations to improve the volunteering practice in the future.  Through qualitative research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 managers, directors or volunteer coordinators in orphanages in Cambodia. Literature research was also undertaken to investigate the background and context of the phenomenon of orphanage tourism in Cambodia.

The research revealed that impacts of orphanage tourism are perceived by the respondents as mainly positive and rarely negative. Impacts of residential care are also seen as more positive than the children’s abusive family situations. All centres say the positive impacts are due to strict recruitment, induction, rules and regulations concerning volunteers and tourists. The negative impacts are often caused by cooperation with volunteer sending agencies which have an overall negative reputation throughout the literature and secondary data. It was clear that the respondents and the literature largely contrast in depicting the practice of orphanage tourism. The respondents distance themselves from the overly negative description of orphanage tourism in literature and media. Thus the research provides a summary of the literature and research on orphanage tourism and new and interesting insights in the perception of impacts of orphanage tourism through the eyes of the host. Furthermore it provides recommendations for host organisations, volunteer sending organisations and governments to improve their practices and policies about orphanage tourism.