Slum tourism? Why not go to a museum instead?

As countries around the world mark the United Nations Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, Stahili’s Youth Ambassador Rebecca Mazzu reflects on a growing and controversial tourism trend.

Being Brazilian, I’m used to people sharing their excitement about their upcoming trip to Brazil to visit the Amazon or in the hopes of catching the Carnival festivities. My friend recently shared her excitement about going on a “favela tour”, which she deemed to be a “non touristic” activity that would open her eyes to the realities of the world. Even though I was not familiar with the term “favela tour”, the name gave me only one indication.

Favela is the Portuguese term for slum, and home to approximately six percent of Brazil’s population. A “slum tour” is by definition a touristic activity that has emerged not only in Brazil, but also other countries such as Kenya, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and India. On a “slum tour”, visiting tourists enter shanty towns to observe people living in poverty. The number of tourists opting to visit these sites has been increasing; it is estimated that in 2014, one million people visited a slum as tourists.

While favelas have become postcards of Brazil, in recent years the government has started initiatives aimed at the relocation of favela residents to safe dwellings. One programme, called “Minha Casa, Minha Vida”, meaning “My house, My life”, proposes safer communities, but also homes with electricity and basic sanitation.  The aim is to provide houses built on strong foundations, free from the worries of floods that previously destroyed homes.

If tourists continue to visit favelas, there may be less incentive from the government to continue these projects which are designed to raise people’s standard of living. While slum tourism does allow visitors to get a glimpse of those living in poverty, we have to ask ourselves: is this really appropriate as a tourist attraction?

In a typical favela tour, tourists take half-day tours – often riding in safari-style jeeps – through poor urban areas. Interaction with the local community is limited. Very few people in the favelas speak English and few tourists speak Portuguese. In that way, most tourists do not have a genuine cultural exchange with the people they are supposed to be visiting.

Slum tourism draws on stereotypes about poverty and glamourises them.  It oversimplifies complex issues related to poverty and inequality. It can also exaggerate the negative aspects, such as drugs and crime, in the eyes of tourists. A slum tour is not the best way to learn about the societal and political constructs that lead to the emergence of shanty towns in developing countries. Importantly, slum tourism does very little economically for the people who live in favelas, and who are being commodified by the tours.

For me, this form of tourism is degrading to vulnerable people and an invasion of their privacy. In reality, tourists are immersing themselves in nothing more than a selfie-taking experience.

Before you decide to book a slum tour in my home country, ask yourself if you would like someone showing up at your doorstep to take pictures of you, your home and your family, just because you are poor. I hope people continue to visit Brazil and enjoy the festivities of Carnival as well as the sights of the Pantanal region, but that they are conscious of how they interact with the culture and the people.