Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) has launched a new project to institutionalise the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct in South Africa.

FTTSA is rolling out the initiative in partnership with funding and advisory partners UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and in collaboration with South African tourism stakeholders. The Code, which started as a project of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes International (ECPAT International), has been developed as a Corporate Social Responsibility tool for tourism businesses and is an industry-driven, multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to mobilise the tourism industry to protect children at risk of exploitation and to report offenders. The Code has been endorsed by the United Nations-World Tourism Organisation (UN-WTO) and many national governments. The Code is now being rolled out to the South African tourism and hospitality sector as a means of raising awareness about the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in tourism and the role of the Code as a preventive and reporting tool. Tourism businesses, including tour operators, hotels, travel agents, car-hire companies, airlines, etcetera that choose to sign the Code commit themselves to implement in their operations the following measures:

1. Establish an ethical corporate policy regarding sexual exploitation of children.
2. Train the personnel in the country of origin and in destinations.
3. Introduce clauses in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of sexual exploitation of children.
4. Provide information to travellers (eg: catalogues, info cards, brochures, in-flight videos, ticket slips, home pages, etc).
5. Provide information to local ‘key persons’ at tourism destinations.
6. Report annually. During the 2010 Fifa World Cup, a national campaign to protect children will be conducted, including messages specifically targeting tourists. This national campaign is co-ordinated by UNICEF and other role players, and aims to help prevent and report child sexual exploitation and other forms of child abuse during the mega-event.