UNWTO is committed to helping to protect children from
sexual abuse and at the start of World Travel Market 2006 in London, the Task Force to
Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism met to discuss the involvement
of the tourism industry in the campaign to protect children from sexual
exploitation.As a direct result of the meeting, Marriott International agreed to distribute the
Internet link to the “The Responsible Tourist and Traveller” among its confirmed
bookings - UNWTO’s practical travel advice, based on the Global Code of Ethics for
Tourism.

Marriott International sends 6.800 pre-arrival confirmations per day, summing over
20 million emails per year to its guests.

“This decision should encourage other tourism operators and serve as an example to
foster responsible tourism practices. Our goal is to create a forum for key-players
in the tourism sector to exchange information and experiences on ways to prevent
exploitation of children and strengthen programmes for their protection”, said the
head of Ethical Tourism at UNWTO, Marina Diotallevi.

The Task Force to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation in Tourism operates in
the context of UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism - a comprehensive set of
principles whose purpose is to guide stakeholders in tourism development: a global
action platform of tourism-related key-players from the government and the tourism
industry sectors, international organizations and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and media associations whose aim is to prevent, uncover, isolate and
eradicate the sexual exploitation of children in tourism.

UNWTO is an active supporter of other similar initiatives within the UN system, such
as those initiated by UNICEF and ILO/IPEC.
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