Effects Of Voluntourism

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Voluntourism is a niche tourism whereby travellers partake in volunteering work, out of their country. This might help in mitigation of material poverty and establishment of facilities in certain regions (Guttentag, 2009; Volunteer Tourism Views, 2013). ABC News (2014) reported that volunteerism had become increasingly attractive to tourist, with an approximation of 1.6 million people volunteering internationally every year. This is because, more tourists seek to experience a purposeful and genuine overseas trip. Cox (2013) specifies that providing education and working with children are the most prominent type of works that volunteers choose. Hence, there has been a surge in volunteering within residential care facilities such as orphanages, notably in developing countries such as Cambodia (Farley, 2015). Although voluntourism brings about the positive aspect of contributing towards Cambodia’s economy, in the long run, it jeopardizes children’s physical, mental and emotional development (Next Generation Nepal, 2014).