Flight Centre is joining Intrepid Travel in ‘rethinking’ orphanage tourism after realising the emotional and physical impact it has on children overseas.
Despite tourists’ good intentions, recent research has found orphanage tourism can cause more harm than good, with children often unnecessarily removed from their families and institutionalised for the purpose of financial profit.
Click here to read more about the dangers of orphanage tourism.
Figures, such as nearly 80 percent of children in overseas orphanages have parents and families, didn’t sit too well with the bosses over at the Flight Centre Travel Group, which is why the company has entered a new partnership with ReThink Orphanages.
As part of the agreement, the Group will take advice from the organisation on how to keep children with their families and ensure any suppliers and partners working with Flight Centre aren’t causing any social harm.
According to a blog on Flight Centre’s website, the company has already assessed the tourism standards of nearly 15,000 worldwide suppliers and partners.
“As part of the Flight Centre Travel Group, we are proud of this initiative that has the power to make positive impacts on communities across the globe,” the blog read.
“We believe that all of us have an important role to be part of the responsible delivery of our purpose – to open the world for those want to see – by making informed travel choices that demonstrate respect for the journey and the destination, so that we ALL tread lightly upon the earth, and travel the world in peace.”