The TTG@WTM Analysis Time for action
Child protection has been on the WTM London agenda since 2011. Holly Tuppen speaks with the panellists who will later demonstrate what progress has been made since then, and what still needs to be done
I
t’s time to stop turning a blind eye and act,” says Harold Goodwin, academic and World Travel Market London’s responsible tourism advisor, who will make a concerted plea to the travel industry while leading today’s panel on child protection.
Since 2011, when child protection was first brought to the attention of WTM London, progress has been patchy. While it’s true that the child protection conversation has moved beyond sexual exploitation to include child labour, orphanages, begging, and trafficking, and that campaigns have gained more weight and exposure, only a small proportion of the travel industry has actioned real change. Today’s session will provide evidence and inspiration to motivate more businesses to step up their game.
The problem
The range of child protection issues facing the travel and tourism industry is so far-reaching that few businesses can claim it’s not their problem. A leading part of the debate to date has been the unintended funding of institutions that worsen, rather than improve, the lives of children. During the panel session, Alex Christopoulos, deputy chief executive of Lumos, an international children’s charity founded by JK Rowling, will demonstrate the potential of the travel and tourism sector to prevent the institutionalisation of children all over the world. Christopoulos says: “Well-intended volunteering, donations and aid provided to
Travel companies must put in place policies that help vulnerable children
orphanages and other residential institutions have created a multimillion-dollar industry.” The travel and tourism industry is partly responsible for creating a demand for children to be trafficked into institutions, even though they have living parents, where they are then often vulnerable to abuse. After visiting or volunteering in orphanages, many tourists continue to send aid, and the sums of money donated per child can often amount to several times the country’s GDP per capita.
The evidence against any form of orphanage tourism is compelling. In 2011, a Unicef report illustrated that
“Any progress we can make in guaranteeing the safety of children is of
interest to us” Jane Ashton, Tui
Orphanage tourism has created problems for poor children in Haiti
Cambodia had experienced a doubling of the number of children being institutionalised despite the number of actual orphans significantly decreasing. But despite these findings, the problem still exists across the world. A 2017 investigation carried out by Lumos found that at least $100 million was donated annually to privately run Haitian orphanages, mainly from North American and Christian funders. Lumos also discovered that impoverished parents were being targeted or tricked by traffickers to give up their children, and that the amount donated could pay for 770,000 Haitian children to go to school. For those businesses that removed orphanage tourism from supply chains years ago, it’s time to broaden the debate. As Jane Ashton, group sustainability director of Tui, recognises: “Any progress we can make in guaranteeing the safety of children is of interest to us”. This includes ensuring the safety of children on holiday, identifying vulnerable individuals, reporting abuse, providing disadvantaged young people with opportunities and putting an end to any practices that might put children at risk.
Stages of progress Today’s panel will hear from businesses at different stages of progress – from those that are creating guidelines to kick-start their journey to those that are moving towards policies that have a positive impact on vulnerable children. The discussion will run between four key areas of progress:
1) Business-led guidelines Emmanuelle Werner, director of Friends International, believes that an indicator of progress is the willingness of businesses to work collaboratively with NGOs. In 2017, G Adventures and the Planeterra Foundation approached Friends International to develop practical guidelines to share with the broader travel
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