Fight the good fight

Travel firms are being urged to support the fight against sexual exploitation of children following a closer tie-up between “The Code” and Pacific Asia Travel Association.
Formed in 1996 by ECPAT Sweden, the UNWTO and Swedish tour operators, The Code is now a major player in recruiting the travel industry to fight sexual crimes against children.
It signed a memorandum of understanding with PATA, last week, that offers PATA members a discount on The Code’s annual fees.
PATA in its official announcement said it would cooperate with the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism (The Code) to “promote child protection practices among tourism companies in the Asia-Pacific region.”
In practice, the MoU allows cross selling and referrals between the two associations to boost and add value to membership.
Companies pay annual membership to The Code based on their gross turnover.
The annual fee scale starts with Euro 50 for companies earning no more than Euro 500,000 a year.
Companies with a turnover of Euro 500,000 to 2.5 million pay Euro 300; Euro 800 for a revenue range of Euro 2.5 million to 50 million and Euro 2,000 for over 50 million.
By 2019 the target is to sustain all programme funding from membership fees, while using government grants for special projects.
Its 2013 annual report shows The Code had an income of US$530,436 with 74% coming from government donors and just 16% from membership fees (US$85,135).
Expenditure reached US$470,973 last year with 82% attributed to programme expenses and just 14% to administration costs.
The Code secretariat moved to its own offices in Bangkok, earlier this year, following two years using the Bangkok offices of ECPAT, a founder and permanent director on the board.

Mario Hardy PATA (left) Andreas Astrup The Code ( right).
The Code provides tools to tourism companies to introduce concrete measures to promote child protection practices and responsible tourism.
Last year, programmes trained 125,890 travel staff in children’s rights and how to report cases of alleged abuse.
Companies that join The Code agree to take six steps that turn child protection principles into concrete actions that can help keep children be safe.
The six steps are:
Establish a policy and procedure against sexual exploitation of children;
Train employees in children’s rights, prevention of abuse and exploitation as well as how to report cases.
Include a clause in all business contracts stating a common repudiation and zero tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation;
Provide information to travellers on children’s rights and how to report cases of exploitation;
Support and engage stakeholders in the prevention of exploitation of children;
Report annually on your implementation of the code.
The Code’s general manager Andreas Astrup, said: “Regional travel associations such as PATA have a long reach. We are thrilled that PATA will use its voice and influence to promote the essential work of The Code and help protect children in tourism.”
“As the first regional tourism association to partner with The Code, PATA is leading the way to a more responsible tourism industry”, PATA’s Chief Operations Officer, Mario Handy said, adding ”I hope PATA members will join The Code.”
UNWTO was the first global travel organisation to back The Code hosting its office in Madrid Spain, 2001 to 2004.
Since then its influence has spread worldwide through partnerships with the ECPAT network, UNWTO, and UNICEF.
The Code became an independent non-profit organisation in 2004 when ECPAT-USA hosted the secretariat in New York, 2004 to 2011.
Since then it has recruited other heavy weight supporters, worldwide, including major hotel chains such as Accor and Melia. In the travel field TUI Travel, Thomas Cook, Kuoni and ITB Messe are key supporters. They subscribe financially to The Code and are cited as its top partners on the website.
Membership fee were introduced in 2011 to diversify income beyond government and NGO grants. Since 2012, operations are largely funded by the support of Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Currently, special projects to expand The Code in Thailand are funded by BMZ/GIZ in partnership with Kuoni Group, TUI Travel, Accor Hotels, and ITB Messe
A special project to expand The Code in Myanmar is also being funded by SECO 2014 to 2016.
The Code secretariat is located in central Bangkok: Unit 12A-11, Chartered Square Building, 152 North Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10500.

Sourced: ttrweekly