ATLAS Special Interest Group
Orphanage Tourism

The coordinator for this Special Interest Group is:

Rodney Westerlaken – NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

Orphanage tourism represents a critical intersection of tourism, child protection, and international development. This phenomenon, where tourists visit or volunteer at residential care institutions, has emerged as a significant concern within the broader context of volunteer tourism (Westerlaken, 2021). While often driven by compassionate intentions, research has shown that this practice can inadvertently contribute to the unnecessary institutionalisation of children and create complex ethical challenges for both the tourism industry and child welfare sectors.

The field has evolved from early studies of volunteer tourism to become a distinct area requiring specialized research attention. This evolution reflects a growing awareness of the specific impacts that tourism can have on vulnerable children in residential care settings, including the commodification of childcare, the creation of attachment disorders, and the perpetuation of poverty cycles that separate children from their families (Westerlaken, 2020).

Our Special Interest Group aims to advance understanding of orphanage tourism’s impacts while developing evidence-based alternatives prioritising child welfare. We bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to examine this phenomenon through interdisciplinary perspectives, fostering dialogue between tourism studies, child protection, and development sectors (Westerlaken, 2021).

The group’s core objectives include:

• Advancing theoretical and methodological approaches to studying orphanage tourism
• Developing evidence-based guidelines for ethical engagement with vulnerable children
• Promoting alternatives that support family- and community-based care
• Facilitating knowledge exchange between academia, industry, and child protection organizations
• Building collaborative networks to address the complex challenges of tourism involving vulnerable populations

Looking ahead to 2025, we aim to:

• Expand our network of researchers and practitioners
• Develop evidence-based guidelines for ethical engagement with vulnerable children
• Organise webinars with academics, child protection agencies and practitioners
• Launch collaborative research projects examining alternatives to orphanage tourism
• Strengthen partnerships with child protection organisations
• Host specialised workshops at the 2025 ATLAS Annual Conference

References
Westerlaken, R. (2020). The modification of perception related to submitting children to Child welfare institutions in Denpasar city [Doctoral dissertation]. Udayana University.

Westerlaken, R. (2021). The impact of orphanage tourism on Bali. Research in Hospitality Management, 11(2), 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2021.1916191