Save the children

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in the world, and sadly they are also the group that is being exploited the most. They are abused physically, emotionally and sexually, and are projected as attractions in tourism. There are many examples of such abuses taking place under the veil of tourism.

 An example of child abuse is orphanage tourism in many countries. In this kind of tourism, young children from orphanages approach tourists and request them to come to their orphanage. When tourists visit, there is a small performance followed by a request for donation which many tourists end up giving. While this is good intent by the tourists, unfortunately, it does not help these children. Many orphanages are run by unscrupulous people who use these children to make money for themselves. Furthermore, to be a part of this thriving trade, thousands of children are being separated from their parents. All these cause more harm than good for these children, who in some cases, are forced into the trade of orphanage tourism.

Another horrible crime committed against children is child sex tourism. This is the commercial exploitation of a young child's sexual organs, and is done by both domestic and foreign tourists worldwide. Over the last few years, this child sex tourism has grown because of low cost travel, border relaxations and vise-free travel to some countries. Countries that are notorious for child sex tourism are Vietnam, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Cuba, India, Sri Lanka, Dominican Republic, Kenya, The Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, Venezuela and Eastern Europe.

Besides exploiting children sexually, their services are also used to run many tourism-based activities. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are anywhere between 13 and 19 million children under the age of 18 who work in the tourism industry. These numbers account for about 10 to 15 percent of the total workforce employed in the tourism industry. These children are made to do the most menial of jobs, and sometimes, they are not even compensated monetarily for their efforts. Since many children come from poor families, they are forced to work for any wage. Moreover, there are no future prospects for these children because schooling is a closed door for them. They toil from a young age, and end up being low-wage laborers as adults. In some instances, these children are physically and sexually abused too, compounding their exploitation by their masters.

These are sad instances that show the negative side of tourism. When tourists visit, eat or stay in any institution that exploits children, they are indirectly and unknowingly contributing to child exploitation. Despite efforts by international organizations such as UNICEF and UNWTO, these child exploitation practices continue to happen because institutions, governments and tourists care little for the plight of these children. Travel companies and institutions only look at the profits while the government turns a blind eye as long as the tourism destinations of the country are popular. As for the tourists, they knowingly and unknowingly add to these problems for children. This situation presents a gridlock, with the children being the victims of this inaction from any side.

To break this vicious circle and to give children the freedom they crave for, it is important for everyone involved to come together. The primary onus is on tourism and travel companies to show better responsibility towards children. While every institution is run only for money, the idea of profits should not overshadow ethics. Using children as a part of their workforce or attraction is unacceptable at any level, and so it should be stopped voluntarily by these companies. In fact, banning child labor should be an integral part of their corporate social responsibility, and they should act as models to prevent this form of exploitation in other industries too.

Besides the tourism companies, the government should also take proactive action to ensure that companies do not employ children as workers. Preventing child labor should be the motto of every government, and they should lay down the guidelines to prevent the same. Furthermore, these guidelines should be implemented strictly, and frequent raids should be conducted on tourism companies to ensure that child labor is not encouraged. The offenders should be given strict punishment such as cancellation of their license, to eradicate child exploitation from the tourism industry altogether.

Lastly, tourists should choose companies that do not use children in any form. If tourists start avoiding institutions that use child labor, then these companies will have no choice but to stop it. Moreover, tourists should report to the concerned authorities if they see children getting exploited, so that the government can take necessary action to end the same.

In short, everyone should come together to free children from exploitation, and to help them have a happy and healthy childhood. 

For more info about us, see the major Society program in Tourismembassy.com