Asian tourism operators form network to fight child sex tourism

The prostitution of children in tourism destinations, commonly called child sex tourism, is a phenomenon that affects children from Asia and all over the world, making child sex tourism a critical issue for the tourism industry.

To help coordinate efforts in combating child sex tourism, delegates representing regional governments, NGOs and the tourism industry attended a two-day Workshop, co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and ECPAT Australia (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking), at the United Nations headquarters in Bangkok from 22 to 23 August 2000.

At the Workshop, tourism industry delegates committed themselves to working with United Nations agencies, NGOs and government ministries to halt child sex tourism in Asia, and to ensure that tourism operators fight child sex tourism, not promote it. Despite the pervasiveness of child sex tourism, it often remains hidden, and tourism operators working on the ground are well placed to play a major role in the fight against the trade in children for sex.

One important outcome of the Workshop was a commitment of ECPAT Australia and ESCAP to work together to help stop child sex tourism in Asia by designing a training programme on child sexual exploitation prevention and awareness for tourism industry staff and ministries throughout Asia.

Training for tourism operators can help make a significant dent in the business of child sex tourism, because tour guides and taxi drivers are often asked by paedophiles where to find -children for sex, while hotel staff witness offenders returning to hotels with children. Frequently, however, they do not know what they can do about this situation, or how best to report the crimes. This is why training 'frontline' staff to play a role in preventing child sexual exploitation is so important.

Representatives of the tourism industry and ministries also vowed to get those working on the frontline to take a proactive role in bringing sexual offenders to justice, and committed themselves to developing a region-wide network of concerned organizations and tour operators to share information on the prevention of child sex tourism. The enthusiasm of the ministries and tourism industry delegates attending the two-day Workshop to play a pivotal role in the fight against child sex tourism in Asia is a major breakthrough in combating this grave issue.

© 1997-2001 United Nations ESCAP.