The tourism industry is dynamic and consists of several unique sectors – transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, travel agencies, tour operations and attractions. Every sector has a different role to play, but all can make a difference by creating protective environments for children.
The attractions sector has not been traditionally engaged in as much as other sectors in the travel and tourism industry. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s GSTC Attraction Criteria established global sustainability standards for attractions, guiding businesses such as theme or national parks toward sustainable practices. The criteria are the minimum that any attraction business should aspire to reach, including maximizing social and economic benefits for the local communities, while protecting children.
With the GSTC Attraction Criteria, the sector is called upon, among other things, to provide guidelines for any interactions with children in the communities. This includes discouraging tourists from taking photos or videos of children and giving gifts to change tourists’ mindsets and remind them that children are not tourist attractions. The criteria also call upon attraction businesses to take action to prevent and respond to any forms of exploitation and/or abuse of children in travel and tourism.
Good practices in working with the attraction sector already exist and can inspire others. For example, in Bolivia, the Munasim Kullakita Foundation, ECPAT member and partner of the Down to Zero Alliance, worked with park rangers to engage formal and informal tourism actors, including community tourist agents in protecting children. The Fundación supported the National Park Services to adopt a code of conduct inspired by The Code.
The GSTC criteria raise awareness across the industry of the breadth and nature of sustainability to embrace child protection in line with the Global Call to protect children in travel and tourism, and the Sustainable Development Goals.