One hot day, a large air-conditioned bus stopped in front of the school. Tourists, mostly from Europe and the United States, got off, cameras in hand. Some of them brought gifts: packages of pencils and pens. They distributed the gifts to the children, who spontaneously started singing and dancing.

Such scenes are not uncommon in schools around the world. This phenomenon is known as school tourism, similar to orphanage tourism and so-called "slum" tourism, where tourists visit orphanages or slums in poor countries to see poverty and suffering firsthand. These types of tourism raise numerous ethical issues, including photographing children and adults without their consent, invading people's privacy, daily disruption of children's routines, and child protection issues.

Tourists usually visit the school for two to three hours. During the visit, they often enter classrooms, photograph children, and sometimes watch cultural performances like singing and dancing. These trips are usually part of an arrangement with a travel agency but exist in various forms around the world. For example, a school visit is often part of a tour schedule in southern Africa or occurs in combination with wildlife tourism.

In Zimbabwe, schools have arrangements with travel agencies that enable infrastructure funding and student sponsorship. For example, in Matabeleland North, near Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls) and Hwange National Park, 19 out of 20 companies interviewed by researchers in 2012 provided some form of support, sponsorship, or infrastructure to schools in the surrounding areas. These partnerships often involve exchanging philanthropic funds for access to their schools. Similar phenomena have been recorded in Fiji, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.

Zimbabwe's economic problems, including severe hyperinflation, are well documented. Schools are poorly equipped, and in public schools, teachers are often unpaid or earn below the poverty line.

I was born in Zimbabwe and am now an Australian citizen and a trained high school teacher. In 2015, I worked with a school in Zimbabwe as part of my university studies and personally witnessed this tourism. In 2019, as part of my doctoral research, I spent a semester at a school in Matabeleland North. That year, the school received 129 visits from tourist groups.

During my stay there, I talked with teachers, tourism workers, and NGO staff. I also asked students to draw pictures of their experiences with tourism.

In a recently published article, I contribute to the growing field of research on how schools funded by tourism operate. I critically examine how the image of "Africa" is reproduced for tourists' view and the fact that the images tourists share after their visit further reinforce harmful stereotypes about the African continent as a place of extreme poverty and need. Schools funded by tourism become a mirror of the tourism industry.

The research identified the types of images used in tourism marketing, depicting a static and clichéd image of "Africa." This includes landscapes filled with animals, extreme poverty, white men and women dressed for safari, and images of Maasai men herding cattle. Smiling, happy children are another part of this image.

Tourism workers I spoke to tried to prevent the continued spread of these images by presenting counter-narratives about how Zimbabweans live. However, they were not always successful. This is partly due to the structured nature of mass tourism initiatives: tourists are sold an itinerary they must follow. Since school visits are part of broader tours in southern Africa, schools and tourism workers felt the need to adhere to a certain image – and this included interactions with happy children. When teachers and schools feel the need to adhere to a certain image, their actions and choices are limited. The school I worked with had different agreements with three travel companies. One donated $200 in cash per visit. Another promised to build a classroom block. The third company actually established the school, providing teacher salaries and significant infrastructure development. Some tourists also donated larger infrastructure items, such as materials for a borehole and electrical connections to the main grid.

The research findings indicate that school visits disrupt students and staff. They represent a departure from the school's usual routines. One teacher said:

Sometimes it happens that you are called unexpectedly, maybe you didn't even know that visitors were coming and they just want to enter at that particular time... Then you are called to leave the class, and time waits for no one. That time is gone and that lesson is interrupted. Because of that, you will not be able to move on to the next subject. Since you have already started the previous lesson, you will not leave it unfinished; you have to finish it, so now the next subject is disrupted as well.

The school from my study found it difficult to reconcile the perceived needs of tourists and the needs of the institution. As one school leader said:

We have to look at it in terms of yes, it takes time: probably children are asked to do something they wouldn't normally do when meeting someone. But you have to look at it from the guest's side and also think, these people are helping us. Potential helpers, some already helping, what (do tourists) take with them?

Children were very aware of the need to please tourists, whom they saw as fulfilling a certain need. Tawanda, a ten-year-old, said:

I would rather come to a school that has visitors because they will help us. When there are no books, they will pay, give us money, and we buy books.

Teachers were concerned that some groups would donate less if they couldn't interact with the children.

What should be done
Ideally, school visits should not exist at all. However, due to Zimbabwe's economic instability, schools are becoming increasingly resourceful in seeking additional funding sources. While not a perfect solution, philanthropic partnerships must exist.

My research does not suggest that people should completely avoid visiting Zimbabwe, nor do I want to suggest that philanthropic funding of schools is necessarily bad. Instead, it is important to seek tourist experiences that do not homogenize culture and cultural experiences. Tourists should also consider the itinerary of any tours they book and strive to avoid companies that offer school visits.