International Organizations in Preventing Sexual Tourism

As our point of departure, it must be recognised
that commercial sexual exploitation of children
and adolescents is a widespread, global
phenomenon at present and it has deeply
penetrated the tourism sector. In fact, the sexual
exploitation of children and adolescents that
takes place in tourism activities is a worldwide practice that presently affects virtually
all countries, including both sender as well
as recipient nations. In spite of the abundant
evidence about these tendencies, corporate and
association actors within the tourism sector
have taken a considerable amount of time to
recognise that the industry could be signifi cantly
contributing to the aggravation of the terrible
consequences associated with these activities.
Only very recently has the tourism industry
begun to evaluate the real social dimension of
the linkage between tourism and the commercial
sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.
Fortunately, it can now be affi rmed that the
international community is paying ever more
attention to this linkage.
Over recent decades, tourism has become a very
large industry and has experienced
spectacular growth. At present, it is the principal
motor of economic growth for many countries.
International tourist arrivals have increased from
25 million in 1950 to 700 million for the year
2000. The projections of the WTO indicate that
this fi gure could rise to more than 1.5 billion
persons by the year 2020. This growth of the
tourism industry has gone hand in hand with
its increased importance as an employment
generator. At present, one out of every 16 jobs
world-wide can be associated either directly or
indirectly with the tourism industry.  
In view of this increased importance of tourism
around the world, awareness on the part of
the international community has also grown
with respect to the need for promoting its long
term sustainability. For this sustainability to... [continues]

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