Did you know that the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has just formed a global taskforce to fight against human trafficking?
It’s now calling on all major travel industry giants to help them combat this issue once and for all.
“The worlds most powerful travel leaders are wholly committed to preventing human trafficking, protecting victims, supporting survivors & engaging with governments so that this pandemic ends once and for all.”
WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara
What’s the issue?
It’s a devastating reality that human trafficking has become a $150 billion dollar industry affecting 40 million victims worldwide and is a primary contributor to modern slavery.
The sad truth is that an estimated one-quarter of trafficking victims worldwide are children whilst another fifth of victims is used for sexual purposes.
To put that into figures that you can digest a bit more vividly, that’s 10 million children and 8 million victims of sex slavery, suffering at the hands of human trafficking.
It’s an industry that relies heavily on travel networks in order to operate and exist, and it’s causing WTTC and some of the biggest names in the travel industry to take a stand and say ‘no more’.
Which is why now, for the first time in travel industry history, WTTC has formed a global taskforce to prevent and combat human trafficking once and for all.
What’s the solution?
The founding members of the task force include Airbnb, Amex GBT, The Bicester Village Shopping Collection, CTrip.com International, CWT, Emirates, Expedia Group, Hilton, JTB Corp, Las Vegas Convention & Visitor Authority, Marriot International, Silversea, Thomas Cook & TUI.
Together with WTTC, the task force is aiming to eradicate human trafficking by focusing on 4 key pillars:
PREVENTION | To increase industry & consumer awareness of human trafficking – it is proven that the more we know, the more we can prevent.
PROTECTION | To train employees and travellers on how to identify and report suspected cases.
ACTION | To encourage governments to enact legislation which recognises human trafficking as a crime throughout the entire chain and develop resources and support needed such as national hotlines.
SUPPORT | To provide assistance, employability training & employment opportunities to survivors.
What will the positive impact be?
By increasing industry & consumer awareness within the travel industry, the task force will be able to spread awareness of not only the dangers but the possible signs of human trafficking in real time, leading to more general public and employee awareness.
The intention is to catch human trafficking in the act and enable safer travelling for all.
But that’s not all this amazing team are planning to do. They’ll also be providing assistance, employment opportunities and training to survivors of human trafficking to help them reintegrate into society.
Gloria Guevara, CEO of TWWC, said that it is their intention to do “everything in (their) power to help eradicate the problem so that people may move safely and freely across the globe, but never coerced.”
Find out more:www.wttc.org
Also, head over to www.thefreedomproject.org / www.stopthetraffik.org or www.projectkarma.org.au for more information.
How can you travel to change the world?
Congratulations! By reading this post and taking some of these insights on board, you’ve already made a difference.
Now you can easily create your impact by sharing your new-found knowledge with other friends who you think would also be interested.
Ultimately, responsible travel comes down to common sense – stay curious, keep yourself up-to-date with the challenges at hand and make yourself accountable for your actions on your travels.