Slum Tourism

One of the most controversial types of travel involves tours of vast urban slums in places like Rio de Janeiro, Soweto, Mumbai, Manila, Cairo and Mexico City. “Shanty tourism” or “poverty tourism” is certifiably questionable and on the ethical borderline when the experience is utterly passive. If however, visitors engage in some kind of community outreach or volunteer program, the collective positive impact falls beyond the realm of mere “slum tourism”.