Poorism is a type of travel where people visit impoverished areas of the world, either for a day or two or by staying in poor neighborhoods. Some argue that it raises social awareness and donates profits to charities, while others criticize it as voyeuristic and derogatory. Tours are held worldwide, including in affluent cities and exotic locations, and some companies establish good relationships with locals. The controversy remains whether poorism serves an altruistic purpose or further alienates those in poverty.
Poorism is a form of travel, which originated as a term in the year 2000 to describe tours of some of the poorest and most economically deprived areas of the world. People can go on a poor-life tour that lasts for a day or two, or some even pay to stay in very poor neighborhoods to get first-hand experiences of some of the lowest living standards in the world. Critics tend to call these tours poorness to define them as derogatory. Others suggest that tours to areas of extreme poverty raise social awareness, and furthermore, some of the tours donate profits to charities that support people in the areas they visit.
The poor man’s tours are held all over the world, and not just in third world countries. For example, you can visit the New York boroughs of the Bronx and East Harlem, Belfast, Ireland, or Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Such tours take people into the heart of poor pockets within large and in some cases prosperous cities. These tours can awaken the mind to the ravages of long-standing poverty, the plight of immigrants or the effects of war.
The more exotic pauperism tours might visit places in India, Brazil, parts of Africa and other places. Such holidays, if they can be called that, usually include visits to more affluent areas and traditional vacation opportunities of the area a traveler intends to visit. Some tour companies establish good relationships with local residents in slum areas, so that visitors can not only see the slum areas, but also talk to the locals. Professionals working in tour areas, such as doctors, may provide special information about residents.
One such company, Reality Tours and Travel, offers what they call slum tours of Dharavi, India which they call the largest slum in the world. On their website, Reality Tours and Travel mentions that 80% of profits go to local charities. The company has become increasingly popular, especially since a 2007 article in Smithsonian magazine discussed their tours and pauperism at length.
Visits to poor areas aren’t exactly new. To engage in charity work, people were often invited to visit slums in their urban areas. This was a common feature, mocked by Charles Dickens, in his 1852 novel Bleak House. Several energetic women have ’causes’ whereby they seek to reform or moralise the poorer members of London society. Dickens’ view of these charity visits was that they sometimes denigrated the poor and neglected compassion and empathy. There was something voyeuristic about these tours.
The same argument is made against the modern poor. Is this just a voyeuristic expedition to see people from the lowest walks of life? Is there emotion in seeing starving children or living conditions that are specifically the worst you could imagine? It’s hard to know if these accusations are valid or if poorism serves a more altruistic purpose. Regardless of its inherent controversy, this tourist trade is growing rapidly, with many agencies springing up to offer tours of impoverished areas. The question remains whether such tours will evoke world change or further alienate those who can afford to travel from those who cannot afford decent living conditions or sufficient food.
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