Striking a blow against the sex tourism industry that entraps tens of thousands of children, UNICEF joined the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the international advocacy group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) in launching a new Code of Conduct for the North American travel industry. The code is designed to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation.

According to a recent ECPAT report, an estimated 25 per cent of sex tourists outside the United States are American. In 1995, Business Week Magazine reported that the United States was host to at least 25 sex tour companies.

The travel industry is critical in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation, said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. We can no longer look the other way while members of our own communities are abusing children in the most unthinkable ways. These are perpetrators of the worst kind. They not only display a callous disregard for human dignity, they do so with total impunity.

An effective response to the sexual exploitation of children requires coordinated and consistent efforts at every level, WTO Deputy Secretary-General Dawid de Villiers stressed. He recalled that this Code of conduct is closely related with the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and newly established World Committee on Ethics for Tourism, key activities of the WTO.

Worldwide, a steadily increasing number of children have become victims of commercial sexual exploitation. An estimated two million children - mainly girls but a significant number of boys - are believed to be part of the multi-billion dollar commercial sex trade.

To combat this growing problem, laws are being passed in many countries which make it illegal to travel overseas to engage in sexual acts with a minor. Last February a New York based travel agency - Big Apple Oriental Tours - was shut down by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on allegations it was organizing vacations overseas where young girls were available for sex. Spitzer then secured a criminal indictment of the owners of Big Apple Oriental Tours. This is the first criminal indictment of US-based sex tour company.

It is everyone`s responsibility to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation, said Carol Smolenski, Director of ECPAT USA. The code is a perfect example of how the travel industry can do its part in building a protective environment for children.

More than fifty tour operators and their associations, hotels and travel agencies are already implementing the code by reaching an estimated 30 million tourists with information on commercial sexual exploitation. This is done through in-flight PSAs, brochures in hotels, ticket slips, websites and catalogues.

By signing the code, the hotel and travel industry commit themselves to:

Establish an ethical corporate policy against commercial sexual exploitation of children

Train personnel in the country where children are sexually exploited

Introduce clauses in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of sexual exploitation of children

Provide information on the sexual exploitation of children to travellers

Provide information to local key persons at destinations

Report annually

Also present at the launch was Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden and John Miller, the Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State on Trafficking in Persons.