Abstract:
This article analyses on the phenomenon of orphanage tourism/ childcare tourism in Cambodia and its social and economic impacts by interviewing the managers directors or volunteer coordinators of nine residential care facilities and to develop recommendations and guidelines for the residential care centres and volunteer organisations to improve the volunteering practice in the future. Impacts of orphanage tourism are perceived by the respondents as mainly positive and rarely negative- residential care is considered 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 perceived to mainly be caused by cooperation with volunteer sending agencies which have an overall negative reputation throughout the literature and secondary data. The respondents distance themselves from the overly negative description of orphanage tourism in literature and media. Thus the research provides 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.
