Cambodia's orphan tourism (2011)

With more than 600,000 orphans in Cambodia, we look at the booming business behind the country's orphanages. <br /> <br />Cambodia's beautiful temples and dark history attracts tourists from across the world. <br /> <br />But many of today's holidaymakers want to do more than sightseeing, with a growing number volunteering their time, energy and skills for free. <br /> <br />From schools to orphanages, they hope their efforts will have a positive impact on the country. But critics claim that such good intentions are having a negative impact, with some orphanages creating a booming business trading on guilt. <br /> <br />There are reports of orphanages using children with parents to pose as orphans, of wealthy tourists depriving local workers from getting much-needed jobs, and of orphans forming emotional attachments to volunteers and facing more trauma when they leave. <br /> <br />On this edition of 101 East , we ask if volunteer tourism does more harm than good for the people of Cambodia.