The contributions to this volume make an attempt to grapple with the intricacies, complexities and ambiguities inherent in orphanage tourism and the extent to which this might accord with some semblance of modern slavery practices. The first part of the book sets the scene, examining this issue...

This chapter argues that the desire of volunteers and visitors to assist orphans through orphanage tourism creates a demand for paper orphans, in turn fuelling orphanage trafficking, thus making the orphanage a site of modern slavery. Central to this chapter is how the institution of the...

This chapter responds to the question of how sending countries (of people, money and resources) contribute to the institutionalization of children in receiving countries. It explores the demand factors for orphanage tourism that drive what is argued as the unnecessary institutionalization of...

This chapter aims to identify the motivations behind voluntourism, categorizing them into types so as to provide a foundation upon which we might better assess why it is that so many voluntourists seek to work with children, often in institutional environments. Particular attention is paid to...

This chapter draws on the author's film The Voluntourist that has arguably been pivotal in raising the groundswell of objection to orphanage tourism. The film follows young international volunteers in Southeast Asia, working in childcare and construction projects over short periods of time. The...

This chapter draws from research on volunteer tourism in orphanages in Nepal, joining the debate on the relationship of orphanage tourism to modern slavery. The chapter sheds light on an implicit and fundamental manifestation of domination in orphanage tourism: the business of poverty. Indeed,...

This chapter seeks to identify a number of similarities between TEFL tourism (i.e., tourism that involves teaching English as a foreign language) and various other forms of tourism, placing it firmly in the 'micro-niche' category. The work-leisure binary in TEFL tourism is discussed, as well as...

This chapter focuses on the role of adventure volunteer tourism in the protection of parks and protected areas. The partnership between the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the US National Park Service is presented as an example of one way that adventure voluntourists can become involved in the...

This chapter explores the ways in which medical voluntourism (i.e., where health professionals travel to another country to provide medical services) contributes to community health and wellbeing in Haiti, particularly in issues such as malnutrition, water access/sanitation and waste disposal. It...

This chapter explores the boundaries between tourism, volunteer work and pilgrimage. It examines contemporary evangelical Christian volunteer work in Israel as a case of 'long-term pilgrimage' in order to discuss the religious meanings that the volunteers attach to their time in Israel, the...