The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), in coordination with Paniamor Foundation, officially launched the Action Manual for the Tourism Sector Companies this week and also recognized a group of 56 tourism companies for their commitment over 5 consecutive years to the Code of Conduct Program which has the goal to discourage and prevent, to the fullest extent possible, the commercial sexual exploitation of underage children related to tourism and travelers.

This initiative seeks to promote responsible tourism that is essentially rooted in the sustainable tourism model that has been developed in Costa Rica. This model includes a key component of tourist safety, namely the protection of underage children.

“For the Costa Rican Tourism Board, it is very important to promote and position Costa Rica as a tourist destination that is responsible for the most vulnerable sectors of our society. The Code of Conduct program reflects the interest that the tourism sector itself has shown in developing sustainable and responsible tourism for the sake of our children and teenagers. As a result of this self-regulation mechanism by companies linked to the tourism sector, we have been able to improve the process of voluntary membership in the program every year. This has included the creation, in collaboration with Fundación Paniamor, of a manual that explains each of the steps needed to file a suspected Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Teens (ESCNNA) complaint in a practical and straightforward manner,” noted Gustavo Alvarado, Head of Tourism Management for the ICT.

The 20-page digital manual includes information of interest about the processes to follow in the event of suspected activity, contact information, the complaint form to submit to authorities such as the Public Ministry, OIL, PANI, the Directorate of Immigration and Foreign Nationals, as well as signs that may indicate exploitation and may be detected by lodging services. The action is part of the program of Zero Tolerance for any suspected action against children or teenagers. The sexual exploitation of children and teenagers is a recognized problem worldwide and also in Costa Rica. However, the dedication that the tourism sector has shown, alongside Fundación Paniamor, Chambers of Tourism and the ICT, has shown Costa Rica to be one of the countries with the greatest commitment to eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of underage children in the tourism sector.

“Fundación Paniamor, alongside the ICT and the private sector, has been applying its technical knowledge for many years in order to raise awareness, build capacity and promote the filing of complaints by businesses when they notice suspicious situations of possible cases of sexual exploitation against children and teenagers (referred to as ESCNNA) in their businesses or in the community. Sustainable tourism must include social sustainability. The situation of child exploitation is one of the most severe violations of human rights and we must never let down our guard in this important struggle” said Carolina Suarez, representative of Fundación Paniamor.

To sign up for this program, corporate signatories must commit to complying with the following five steps of the Code of Conduct:

Participate in a training workshop held by the institution.

Train 100% of their staff.
Create a policy of ethics that includes zero tolerance for ESCNNA.
Prepare a letter indicating commitment to the program by the administration.
Present an annual report in which the degree of compliance with the commitments is recorded.

Those interested in further information and downloading the manual can access the website here: http://www.ict.go.cr/es/sostenibilidad/codigo-de-conducta.html