Social protection:
Child labour

Around the world, between 13 and 19 million people less than 18 years of age work in an occupation tied to tourism. This represents some 10-15% of the tourism workforce. In a project of the ILO Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean and the Government of Canada on Combating Child Labour in the Caribbean, many activities have been undertaken and a useful website has been created. A recent ILO working paper examines the situation for Asia and the Pacific region on this topic.

Useful links/resources

• ILO Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean
• Sectoral activities working paper on child labour and tourism in Asia and the Pacific
• ILO tripartite regional meeting on hotels, catering and tourism
• Child labour. Report VI(2) to the 86th Session of the International Labour Conference, 1998

It is estimated that two million children in the world are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. International tourism is the sector where this evil can be effectively dealt with.

Useful links/resources

• General information about the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)
• "It’s not child’s play" - Forms of child labour in tourism (ppt - 6,089k)