Posted: August 1st, 2023

Sex Trafficking in the Tourism Industry

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Sex Trafficking in the Tourism Industry
Introduction
Human trafficking is a critical issue affecting forty million people across the world and five million being children. According to the world travel and tourism council, sex trafficking is worth one hundred and fifty billion dollars. Tourism is among the most significant and impactful economic industries in the world today (Carolin, Lindsay, and Victor, page 166-171). Tourism is incomparable with other sectors, for instance, agricultural industries and mining industries. The number of tourist’s increases yearly were in the last seventy years; the production has increased, causing more issues and challenges.
Most nations and organizations are fighting and combating sex trafficking in tourism, focusing more on human rights as well as equality and fairness to all individuals from different ethnicity, race as well as sex. Currently, sex trafficking is not part of corporate responsibility, especially in business associations and in the industrial sector. Everyone has a role to play in combating sex trafficking in tourism from employees, customers, and the industry (Carolin, Lindsay and Victor, page 166-171). The paper is a research on the emerging issue of sex trafficking in tourism industry touching on all aspects of the problem from impacts to the future.
Background Information
Globally, people of all gender and age go through exploitation and harassment during sex trafficking. Women, men, and children are all victims of the emerging issue where, according to the international labor organization, twenty-one million people go through sex trafficking and later subjected to forced labor. According to reports, women are prone and often trafficked compared to men, where eleven million victims of sex trafficking are young girls and women (Miller-Perrin, et, al., 123-151). Sex trafficking is part of human trafficking where people are trafficked for sexual activities as well as for both sex and labor.
According to reports, at least one of three teenagers trafficked are sexually exploited or sold for commercial sex within the first forty-eight hours. In the United States, seventy-nine percent of individuals go through sex trafficking yearly. The United States trafficking victims act reports; most of the individuals trafficked are lured and introduced to commercial sex and forced sex through people they know, such as; family members, spouses, and close friends.
Individuals trafficked for sexual activities are often rejected by family members and the community. Pimps earn a lot of money where an ordinary pimp gets about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to twenty thousand dollars per head with a minimum of six women or girls (Carolin, Lindsay and Victor, page 166-171). The victims of sex trafficking are forced into sex, where beginners engage in sex twenty to forty times a day. According to the United States health and human service association, less than a hundred beds are available for the victims in the United States, which is unhygienic and part of human rights violations.
Pimps and traffickers target people between the age of twelve to fourteen, where child sex trafficking is the most occurring type of trafficking. According to the united states reports and statistics, children trafficked are between the age of fourteen to seventeen, where those below the age of fourteen are minors abused and engaged to forced labor by traffickers in the designated areas. Children and minors trafficked are given low payments compared to grown women and men (George, Emma, and Mandy Stanley, page 394-407). Tourism industries conduct trips and travel for many reasons as well as tourists travel for various purposes, including having opportunities for sexual activities, which is challenging for the government to discover. Numerous tourists with motives of engaging in sexual activities, conduct the activities in hotels, brothels, clubs as well as hiring prostitutes hourly.
The Scope of Sex Trafficking in Tourism Industry
In the early nineteenth century, the tourism industry began to expand both in affordability and accessibility. Most tours and travel industries have been introduced all over the world, where the expansion in the sector brought about international travel. Most countries depend on revenues from tourism sectors for growth and development project (Carolin, Lindsay and Victor, page 166-171). Governments in various countries embraced the activity and developed tourism-related policies and strategies to establish economic activity. Third world countries are the biggest beneficiaries of tourism industry due to the availability of tourist attraction sites as well as favorable climate.
Tourism has changed recently from the traditional tourism to modern tourism accompanied with issues such as sex trafficking. Sex trafficking in the tourism sector, also known as sex tourism involves people traveling to foreign countries primarily to engage in sexual activities with women, men as well as minors. Sex tourism is illegal ignored for a long time now by most governments. Most countries ignore the act of sex tourism, laying more focus on economic development and benefits the country and sectors acquire from the industry.
Technological exploitation, especially in communication, is a massive contribution towards sex tourism where tourists, also known as buyers in this context, use smartphones, PS, and computers to communicate and trace sellers. Potential sex buyers search for sexual partners through the internet to acquire services, location as well as cost around the world. Most travel agencies are not legitimate tourism industry but focus on offering sexual services to most tourists (Carolin, Lindsay and Victor, page 166-171). Websites as the most used form of communication, provide information on the availability of sex persons, information on the safest routes and hotels as well as routes to use in case of police patrol and how to evade prosecution in case caught.
The demand for women and children in sex tourism has increased where most uneducated and naïve women and girls are engaged in sexual activities for money. With the societal view of prostitution, most individuals prefer engaging in sex tourism as an improved and cooperative way of engaging in commercial sex. Most victims of sex trafficking in the tourism industry are found in their neighboring countries as well as in their own countries. Growth in the tourism industry has contributed to international traveling through transporting minors and women to foreign countries. Regardless of the awareness and fights from anti-trafficking international organizations, sex tourism is still an issue contributed by many factors such as the use of the internet, unemployment, education levels, women’s rights, and many more.
Sex trafficking in the tourism industry is a global issue experienced in almost all countries except in Antarctica. According to statistics, about forty-five percent of individuals in New York reported as sexually exploited in brothels and restaurants (Carolin, Lindsay and Victor, page 166-171). Prostitution and other forms of commercial sex are legalized in various parts of the country, making the issue more challenging to solve. About forty-nine percent of countries around the world have legalized prostitution, and twelve percent have no strict and legislation on prostitution. A state such as the Netherlands has legalized prostitution, although sex trafficking is affecting all countries were employees in the tourism industry transport people for sexual activities. According to the world vision of Australia estimates, most sex-trafficked individuals originate from Australia, where two hundred and fifty thousand people from Australia reported to engage in sexual activities in China.
Additionally, other countries such as the United States provide twenty –five percent of victims where men are the most significant part of sex tourists or buyers around the world. Sex tourists are from privileged communities and influential persons in society. Tourists travel to undertake multiple activities, both legal and illegal, where most tourists go for legal reasons but end up engaging in sexual activities. The act makes it challenging for the government to realize and differentiate tourist motives.
Sex tourists or buyers are either situational, opportunistic as well as preferential according to their motives. Preferred buyers, in this case, are tourists who buy services through the designed websites according to their preferential taste. Tourism industries consist of sites where both buyers and sellers meet where most of the time, forcing victims into the act. Internal organized sexual activities involve most preferential buyers. Opportunistic buyers are sex tourists who opt for any victim of sex trafficking without considering many aspects such as age. Opportunistic buyers do not care about involvement with a minor or an older adult. Opportunistic individuals engage the victims in vigorous sexual activities and pornography. Situational buyers engage in sexual activities because of the availability and vulnerability of victims.
Minors and Sex Trafficking
Child sex trafficking is a form of exploitation directed to minors from tourists traveling from other countries or within the country (Miller-Perrin, et, al., 123-151). Additionally, child sex tourism involves organized sex tourism, which is held from within the tourism industry by employees or the director. Organized child sex tourism organizations occur through the industry network system where the tourist and the child are linked or connected for the activity.
Tourists traveling to other countries for sex activities with minors originate from famous and wealthier countries. Most sex tourists targeting children travel to developing countries considered to have high availability and accessibility. Engaging in sexual activity with a minor is an act of human rights violation as per the United States constitution, UN convention of children’s rights as well as child prostitution and pornography laws. Sex tourists traveling from the United States originate from the Northern American side, according to reports. All countries should protect children from sex trafficking and any form of sexual violence from adults.
Child sex trafficking in Asia is rampant than in other countries, which is a significant ethical issue, especially in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, as well as in the Philippines (Miller-Perrin, et, al.,123-151). For instance, four hundred thousand children trafficked in India and twenty thousand children in sir Lanka. Minors are vulnerable to sex trafficking lured through the internet, where most children travel on their own through the guidance of traffickers without their guidance knowledge. Poverty is the most significant contributing factor to sex trafficking, especially in Asia and Africa. Risk factors in trafficking minors for sexual activities are individual risk factors, community, and society. On personal level risk factors, most juveniles are prone to sex trafficking, especially if exploited earlier, for example, physical and sexual abuse, home runways, children in foster care, as well as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals. Child maltreatment brought about by various levels of violation plays a massive part in minor sex trafficking globally.
Children exploiters not only do through mental issues or various personality disorders but also engage in the act for experimenting, also known as situational child abusers. Most tourists exploiting minors are from local areas or foreigners where most consider coming from other countries (Edralin, Divina, page 42-50). The availability of children is a major contributing factor where most tourists find it easy to access children. Some tourist exploiters believe minors require money for upkeep, buy food, and improve their living conditions and those of their families. Other tourists still believe in the myth of engaging with a minor lowers the risk of contracting HIV because children are less likely to suffer from the virus.
Causes and Risk Factors of Sex Trafficking in the Tourism Sector.
Major Sporting events
Major sporting events contribute to sex trafficking, which is a major event organized by the tourism industries. Local, national, and international sporting events help towards sex trafficking due to high tourist attractions from all over the world. Sporting events provide high economic value to all countries and mostly to the location of the game. According to estimates, about four to five million trillion dollars tapped from event sport tourism (Carolin, Lindsay, and Victor, page 166-171). Other than creating positive economic value to countries, a sporting event such as the World cup can create several negative impacts on the host country sex trafficking is one of the many issues. For instance, about forty thousand children and women trafficked in the 2006 world cup according to media reports. Most of the time, the media does not provide enough information on the number of people trafficked, making it challenging to get news on the link between sporting events and sex trafficking.
Violation of Women Rights
Women are trafficked more than men for both labor and sex, according to a large number of reports. Lack of women’s rights has contributed mainly to an increased rate of sex tourism in women. Women being mostly exploited not only in sex tourism but in other sectors is caused by a lack of laws and regulations to support women’s rights. Women are generally used around the globe and subjected to slavery (Miller-Perrin, et, al., page 123-151). Organizations have focused more on the cause of sex tourism instead of laying more emphasis on women’s rights and sexual exploitation of women. The issue has led to more female immigrants compared to women; therefore, women viewed as the most vulnerable and exploitable community for entertaining tourists, sources of labor as well as domestic servitude. Most women trafficked for sex reasons have low education and unemployed according to societal demands.
In most countries, women get denied the same rights given to me. Equality in employment and social; rights have been a significant concern. Women are neglecting and denying various job opportunities, pay as well as employment benefits, including promotion. Women are encouraged by most agencies to travel outside the country for a better and wide range of job opportunities (Miller-Perrin, et, al., page 123-151). The government does not regulate most job opportunities offered, therefore, illegal and illicit. Opportunities offered include sexual exploitation, involvement in commercial sex as well as traffic to other countries for sexual activities.
Education level.
Regardless of the efforts to educate the less privileged community through various training programs and rehabilitation, a large number of people are still uneducated. According to most reports, most people engaged in sex tourism have fewer job opportunities due to low levels of education in their home counties (Carolin, Lindsay and Victor, page 166-171). Others are lured into better education or getting sugar daddy’s and sugar mummies to cater for their education. Sex tourists are wealthy and influential; therefore, most of the time, desperate individuals end giving in to acquire better jobs and life. The uneducated individuals are more likely to be lured into sex tourism organized by the tourism industries or both tourism industries and human trafficking organizations.
Child maltreatment
Child maltreatment through physical abuse, sexual abuse, and other forms of maltreatment contribute highly to minor sex tourism. Most victims of sexual violence end up being victims of sex tourism or prostitutes in their countries or outside country (George, Emma, and Mandy Stanley, page 394-407). According to various reports, victims of sexual abuse are twice likely to undergo sex tourism compared to non-victims. Child maltreatment takes place not only through physical abuse but through emotional abuse and neglect by family members and loved ones. Minors sexually abused emotionally or physically develop a psychological condition which develops into behavior where the victims became prone to other sexual activities and drug use. Victimized children decide to run away from home or engage in commercial sex due to low self-esteem, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The demand for sex trafficking
As the demand for sex trafficking increases in the tourism industry, the supply of victims, on the other hand, increases. Sex tourists, also known as the buyer’s market for sex from women and minors, have increased where a decrease in buyer’s demand would lead to a decline in the emerging issue (Barnert, Elizabeth, et al., page, 825-829). The supply of women, girls, men, and children must, therefore, increase to meet the requirements of the buyers. Tourism sectors strive to maintain a higher economic status within the industry by avoiding reasons that would lead to low income.
Younger victims are more vulnerable compared to older, therefore, leading to an increase in children’s sex tourism compared to adult sex tourism. A more inexperienced individual is energetic and healthy, where according to UN protocol and US federal trafficking laws, young girls are highly involved in sex trafficking (George, Emma, and Mandy Stanley, page 394-407). The legalization of sex activities in most countries has increased the demand, for instance, in the Netherlands. Netherlands advocate for prostitution; therefore, men are encouraged and have the right to purchase women while women denied protection from sexual exploitation. Most tourists visiting the Netherlands engage in sexual activities with the local women as a mode of entertainment.
Technology
The explosion in the use of the internet has mainly contributed to sex tourism, where most activities take place through the internet. The purpose of the internet in the tourism industry has brought about positive implications as well as a negative implication (Barnert, Elizabeth, et al., page, 825-829). Most tourist industries use the internet for marketing their services online, including sexual activities. Tourists with the motive of engaging in sex activities often ask for the services through the websites. Industrially organized sex trafficking takes place through the internet.
Nevertheless, the internet use in viewing pornographic materials by most individuals, both minors and adults, is a risk factor leading to engagement in sexual activities for experimental reasons as well as for satisfaction. Sex tourists use the internet to access various pornographic sites used to entice and lure individuals into sexual activities, especially an older buyer to a minor victim.
Impacts of sex trafficking in the Tourism Industry.
Implications of sex trafficking is experienced on an individual level as well as in societal level. First and foremost, leads to spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. A case of syphilis transmission in Columbus, affected men travelling for sexual activities leading to widespread sexually transmitted infections. Sex trafficking victims are prone to contracting HIV especially young girls and children (Macias-Konstantopoulos, et, al., page 185-210). Most sex tourists prefer younger children because of the belief that young individuals are safe from HIV. Victims of sex trafficking forced into sexual activities, especially children, therefore highly vulnerable to infections.
The act of not testing sex tourists of HIV is unfair and leads to a widespread of the diseases to the designed countries. Most sick individuals decide to travel away from their homelands to infect individuals from other countries (Macias-Konstantopoulos, et, al., page 185-210). People are living with HIV at some point experience low self-esteem and confidence leading them to transmit and interact with minors. Infected and affected adults believe in engaging with a minor may reduce their risk of contracting HIV infecting most minors with the disease. Apart from HIV, conditions such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and others are severe and may end up affecting the victims.
Sex trafficking in the tourism industry leads to erosion of social and cultural norms of destination areas. For instance, traveling to China for sexual activities reduced and affected the culture and social morals of that particular country (Barnert, Elizabeth, et al., page, 825-829). Ethically sex trafficking and sexual exploitation are morally wrong and, therefore, punishable under human rights and children, code of conduct. Engaging minors and young girls into sexual exploitation has led to immoral behaviors where victims are affected, psychologically making them sexual predators. The moment a victim is considered a sexual predator, the victim acts out of conscience by engaging in other forms of sexual activities, for instance, engagement in gay or lesbianism.
The tourism industry goes through various challenged both in dealing with sex trafficking cases as well as in safeguarding the industry reputation. Tourism industries unintentionally get involved in sex trafficking where tourists come with different motives other than legal reasons. In such cases, the tourism industry may report the issue in advance, or the industry accused of hosting and accepting sex trafficking through offering transportation and accommodation (Barnert, Elizabeth, et al., page, 825-829). Sex trafficking issues affect most tourism companies’ reputation, which lowers the level of sales as well as the loss of employees. Other impacts of sex trafficking to tourism industry businesses involve trade-related risks, treats directed to companies’ reputation, legal risks where an industry is prone to sanction, and accusations of the criminal offense, which may cost the organization massive amounts of money.
Human trafficking affects all countries around the globe, starting with Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central Europe, the European Union, and lastly, in the middle east. The emerging issue affects the country’s business and reputation by putting the countries general economic sector at risk (Walby, et, al., page 167-168). The affected country are at a considerable risk of because most involved hotels and airlines are put under investigation and may go through sanction. Sex trafficking does not only affect the tourism industry but also considered a global problem affecting almost all other sectors.
The Future and responses Towards Sex Trafficking in the Tourism Sector
The tourism industry, at times, does not contribute to sex trafficking, most tourists visit countries with a legal motive. The sector should conduct examinations in future on clients and provide information on how industries contribute towards sex trafficking as well as sex tourism. The problem with solving the issue is a lack of awareness and enough reports to measure the impact and cases of sexual traffic in the industry (Paraskevas, et, al., page 147-156). For instance, sporting events do not provide information on sex trafficking during events.
The government and other non-governmental agencies fail to collect and present information on the emerging issue. The media offer less data, which does not change over the years, wherein some instances, the cases are reported to decline (Paraskevas, et, al., page 147-156). However, the tourism industry has fought the issue of sex trafficking through creating various ways, for example, the development of the code of conduct against children exploitation as well as the industry protecting children against sexual exploitation. The system has, therefore, enabled most tourist industry to combat sex trafficking and protect minors from exploitation.
Airline companies, hotel management, as well as owners of various clubs, has collaborated with the government to reduce and mitigate the issue of sex trafficking, for instance, an exchange program established by the Nix meeting management to curb human trafficking. Additionally, the exchange program collaborates with the national center of exploited children to combat minor sex trafficking and exploitation (Paraskevas, et, al., page 147-156). The primary objective of the initiative is to combat minor sex trafficking as well as monitor hotels and companies to acquire information and images of the exploited victims abused in the areas.
The department of homeland security is working in conjunction with transport industries such as the airline companies to monitor cases and signs of sex trafficking. Training offered to employees such as the cabin crews in the transport companies to have a broad understanding of how to control and observe various behaviors that may dictate a sex trafficking case.
According to the united states, the tourist industry should assist the government in curbing the issue through learning the red flags from most sex tourists as well as the identification of victims of sex trafficking. The United States Department of State has, however, introduced training programs to law enforcement and business industries on how to respond and handle cases of sex trafficking. For example, disciplinary measures and language learning.
Employees, on the other hand, receive training on how to suspect and monitor a trafficker where most of the time, traffickers command the rest of the group and take care of all bills (Edralin, Divina, page 42-50). For example, traffickers spotted with a large group of women, order adjacent rooms, use unique slangs, control money, and pay bills a day at a time, most victims address traffickers as daddy as well as openly assault the victims.
The travel and tourism industry, in collaboration with the civil society organization, are working together to highlight tourism ethics and sexual exploitation in the industry through a “don’t look away” initiative that encourage witnesses from reporting any form of sex trafficking. Since human trafficking operations lure most traveling productions, most industries align their companies with the United Nations sustainable development goals to end sexual abuse and trafficking in everyone, including children.
The future of sex tourism and trafficking in minors relies on the end child prostitution, child pornography and child trafficking for sexual purposes (ECPAT) enacted a program to reduce minor sexual exploitation where the program aims at reducing exploitation through child’s right. The UN Convention on the rights of children consists of fifty-four articles on the protection of children from sex trafficking (Edralin, Divina, page 42-50). The convection considered the wellbeing of children as a primary concern before any other issues.
Countries under the UN convection adhere to the laws and regulations in protecting children against any form of exploitation. The tourism industry and the government provide awareness to the public on the general signs of a victim, according to (ECPAT) code (Edralin, Divina, page 42-50). One, the victims suffering from anxiety, restricted to leave their work environment, showing signs of being monitored or controlled, subjected to violence as well as suffer from injuries.
The world tourism organization (WTO), consisting of one hundred and forty-one members, assist members in obtaining better results from tourism industries (Paraskevas, et, al., page 147-156). The WTO has a well-developed tourism bill of rights with tourism codes to protect clients from sexual exploitation as well as reduce cases of organized sex tourism. The organization work with the different government to ensure the tourism industry follows the tourism code of conduct as well as deals with matters related to tourism industry such as sexual exploitation and trafficking towards children, women, and men.
Conclusion
The tourism industry plays a more significant part of sex trafficking, both intentionally and unintentionally. The sector gets involved in the sex trafficking issue through transportation and accommodation, where the industry accommodates and organize for transport to sex tourists as well as victims without their knowledge. Sex trafficking involves men, women, and children in exploitation, the most affected being women and children. Sex trafficking affects the individual/ victim, the tourism industry, the society as well as the globe.
Most non-governmental organizations and the government are working together to reduce cases of sex trafficking in tourism through conducting training programs as well as expressing zero tolerance towards sex trafficking cases. The tourism industry can as well play a vital role in reducing sex trafficking through conducting examinations and providing reports on the relationship between sex trafficking and the tourism industry. The future of sex tourism will demand more reporting’s from different areas of the world.

Work Cited
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Miller-Perrin, Cindy, and Sandy K. Wurtele. “Sex trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.” Women & Therapy 40.1-2 (2017): 123-151.
Paraskevas, Alexandros, and Maureen Brookes. “Nodes, guardians and signs: Raising barriers to human trafficking in the tourism industry.” Tourism Management 67 (2018): 147-156.
Sönmez, Sevil, Jessica Wiitala, and Yorgos Apostolopoulos. “How complex travel, tourism, and transportation networks influence infectious disease movement in a borderless world.” Handbook of Globalisation and Tourism. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019.
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