Orphanage Tourism
Note on imagery: The images accompanying this SIG webpage are AI-generated. We have deliberately chosen to use artificial imagery rather than photographs of institutionalised children, as displaying such images would contradict our mission to discourage the exploitation of vulnerable children for promotional purposes.
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
ATLAS SIG Soundbite 18 – Orphanage Tourism
In the ATLAS SIG Soundbites series the different ATLAS Special Interest Groups tell about their SIG.
ATLAS SIG Orphanage Tourism Webinar
Launching the novel Special Interest Group on ‘Orphanage Tourism’
You can watch the recording HERE
Annual review of activities – 2026
Over the past year, the Orphanage Tourism SIG has continued to strengthen its role as a critical platform within ATLAS, addressing one of the most ethically contested areas at the intersection of tourism, volunteering, and child welfare.
A key focus has been increasing visibility and engagement across academic and practitioner communities. The SIG was represented at the BICON conference, where discussions contributed to raising awareness of orphanage tourism as a structural issue rather than a collection of isolated practices. In addition, participation in the ATLAS Critical Tourism seminar in Japan provided an important forum to situate orphanage tourism within broader debates on power, inequality, and post-pandemic tourism development.
The SIG also co-organised a highly successful joint webinar in March 2026 together with the Dark Tourism, Volunteer Tourism, and Heritage Tourism & Education SIGs. The session brought together diverse perspectives on “difficult” and contested forms of tourism and attracted a broad ATLAS audience. The contribution from the Orphanage Tourism SIG, titled “Profiting from Separation: Orphanage Voluntourism and Violations of Children’s Right to Family Life,” helped frame the issue not only as a tourism phenomenon but as a systemic violation of children’s rights. The discussion that followed highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue and reinforced the need for continued collaboration across SIGs.
Looking ahead, the SIG aims to further consolidate its academic and societal impact by strengthening collaborations, expanding engagement with policy and advocacy actors, and supporting research that moves beyond awareness-raising towards structural change.