Growth in emerging economies, cheaper flights, digital technologies and new accommodation options have helped the travel and tourism industry to expand with astonishing speed. Travel and tourism generated 9.8% of GDP and one in every 11 jobs for the global economy in 2014. But access to new destinations increasingly bring travelers into contact with vulnerable children in the developing world, contributing to growing sustainability concerns for the industry to address issues such as trafficking and sexual exploitation.
A key perspective for UNICEF is the industry’s role in employment; in particular the prevalence of youth, women and migrants in these jobs, thus a significant livelihood opportunity for vulnerable populations. Decent work provisions and workplace safety, including for youth and women employees working non-traditional hours, are essential.
The travel and tourism industry’s environmental and cultural impact can also have a negative effect on children’s rights. However, a number of leading businesses, in partnership with UNICEF and other stakeholders, are now tackling these issues head on.
“While tourism companies are not responsible for child sex tourism, tourism professionals are in key positions to intervene by protecting children and reporting cases,” says Marc Joly, general manager for The Code. “For instance, hotel staff can come in contact with travelers trying to bring a child to the hotel or they may be looking to engage in the sexual exploitation of children.”
The Code (short for The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism), is an industry-driven, multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation and provide the tourism industry with the tools to tackle it. Members are required to implement six criteria covering issues such as supplier contracts, information for travellers and annual reporting.
Staff training is provided through e-learning modules, which are tailored to different roles in a travel business and available in 10 languages. Based on real cases, the modules are designed to give staff members practical skills in recognising and responding to cases of child sexual exploitation.
Meliá Hotels International has been a member of The Code since 2006. To date, more than 41,000 Meliá employees worldwide have received specialist training on child sexual exploitation issues. “Our [staff] training goes beyond technical issues, highlighting respect for the dignity of children, knowledge of their rights, the impact of child sex tourism on a country, and how hoteliers can lead the fight against it,” says Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, vice chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotels International. This training also helps to spread awareness of the issues “beyond the workplace to families, communities and the wider social environment.”
The Spanish chain also partners with UNICEF to work on projects focused on preventing child exploitation – including raising funds through the Solidarity Check-in and Solidarity Wages scheme which to date has raised more than €1.3m (£923,218).
For example, child sexual exploitation and child-trafficking are significant problems in the Dominican Republic, where Meliá operates several resorts. So, the company and its stakeholders worked together with UNICEF to provide training for tourist police (Politur), and educate children on their rights. Meliá’s alliance with UNICEF plans a special focus on Asia – a growing market for the company.
Kuoni, a Swiss-based tour operator , has been at the forefront of efforts to spotlight child rights within industry due diligence and sustainability efforts.
With support from UNICEF, Kuoni undertook human rights impact assessments in India and Kenya. This led to the development and implementation of a Human Rights Impact Assessment toolkit, based on the guidance given through The Children’s Rights and Business Principles. Children were consulted through focus groups and interviews, helping Kuoni to understand their concerns and develop a better understanding of the impact its operations have on child rights.
Many of the wide-ranging travel business issues that might affect children, such as labour rights and fair wages for parents, can be dealt more effectively through working across the industry and with other stakeholders. “You need the embassies, you need the government, you need the NGOs to do some prevention work too,” says Matthias Leisinger, vice president of corporate responsibility at Kuoni Travel.
Child labour concerns also relate to the scope of stakeholders and value chain in travel. “In certain countries you see children involved in things like construction of hotels or building roads to develop infrastructure for the tourism sector – that is really hazardous work, and that is not acceptable,” says Tulika Bansal, an advisor for the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
She highlights that the impact that land acquisition for new resorts has on children’s rights also needs more attention. Other concerns gaining attention are “voluntourism” and “orphanage tourism” - where tourists visit and interact with children in institutional care. There are significant child protection risks in such actions and they can unintentionally have negative impacts on the child’s emotional development and right to a family.
Beth Verhey, senior advisor for corporate social responsibility, UNICEF, highlights the practical resources for responsible travel businesses on issues like this, such as new guidelines from sustainable travel groups and social enterprises such as Friends International in southeast Asia. She explains that as a “globally significant employer with a prevalence of youth, women and migrants” the travel and tourism industry is a priority for business actions on child rights, and adds that an “essential next step is for industry bodies to update guidelines and standards with child rights criteria.”
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