Tourism Concern is currently running a crucial campaign, to call upon governments and tour operators to end orphanage tourism.

Every year thousands of volunteers and tourists are lured to giving love to children in need around the developing word. Tourism and volunteering in orphanages is fuelling the demand for “orphans”, and so drives the unnecessary separation of children from their families.

In the past decade the number of orphan children has declined worldwide, however the increasing number of orphanages in many developing countries matches the rising numbers of tourists. In Cambodia the number of orphans have halved and yet the number of orphanages has doubled – 75% of children in these institutions are not in fact orphans. In Ghana the figure is as high as 90%.

Goolge finds 505,000 results for ‘volunteer orphanage abroad’ – most are marketed by holiday companies and tour operators. In the UK there are at least 30 tour operators sending volunteers to orphanages and Tourism Concern is demanding that they stop sending tourists and unqualified volunteers to orphanages.

The petition will be presented to tour operators to demand an end to voluntarism placements in orphanages, which is why it is important that as many people as possible sign it. Please circulate the petition to your friends, family and colleagues and help us put an end to vulnerable children being used to sell holidays.

To sign the petition and find out more, visit the Tourism Concern website: www.tourismconcern.org.uk/orphanage-petition.html