Young Australian backpackers venturing overseas are being warned to rethink volunteering in developing countries as a booming trend of “voluntourism” exposes a darker side of the industry.
According to Save the Children Australia, popular voluntourism destinations for Australians such as Bali, Thailand and Cambodia have seen the number of orphanages increase by up to 6,000 per cent since the trend began.
“Most people mean well, so ‘voluntourists’ are … choosing holidays or holiday packages and they want an element of doing good in it, and orphanages seem to have been one of the things that attracts people,” Save the Children child protection expert Karen Flanagan said.
