Increasingly NGOs organize trips for their ‘major donors’ to visit development projects with the aim to enhance funding streams and fortify donor relations. Building on growing discussions of ‘philanthrocapitalism’ as a novel form of international development financing, we analyze such ‘donor trips’ as a unique tourism niche termed ‘philanthrotourism’. Based on empirical research concerning two such trips to Sub-Saharan Africa, we argue that philanthrotourism allows donors to experience jouissance—a particular type of ambivalent enjoyment that includes fascination with dark and horrific elements—as a core motivation to engage in staged development spectacles via their touristic experiences and thereby affirm their commitment to philanthropy. Our analysis highlights the importance of investigating psychological underpinnings of ethical tourism more generally.

非政府组织越来越多地为其“主要捐助者”组织旅行，以访问发展项目，目的是增加资金来源并加强捐助者关系。基于对“慈善资本主义”作为国际发展筹资的一种新颖形式的讨论日益增多，我们分析了“捐助旅行”这一独特的旅游业利基，称为“慈善资本主义”。基于对两次这样的撒哈拉以南非洲之行的经验研究，我们认为慈善旅游主义使捐助者能够体验快乐这是一种特殊的含糊不清的享受，包括对黑暗和恐怖元素的迷恋，这是通过他们的旅游经历来参与舞台表演的主要动机，从而肯定了他们对慈善事业的承诺。我们的分析突出了更广泛地调查伦理旅游的心理基础的重要性。