A Model for Multi-stakeholder Partnerships on Human Rights in Tourism

This paper presented a CSR model of public-private partnerships created to advance a more comprehensive approach to protection of human rights issues in tourism. This framework allowed development of know-how that did not exist previously within the industry, and provided for the private sector reaction to an emerging issue transcending the usual sector boundaries. The challenge highlighted in the testing of the model was the need for balancing between flexibility in implementation at national level, and maintaining consistency of the international conceptual framework. The experience with its implementation until now shows that it is possible for the tourism private sector to effectively answer a real need of society in trying to curb the problem of child sex tourism, and in a wider context, to improve protection of children’s rights in destinations. The key achievement of the model was the re-evaluation, and in some countries the reshaping, of the relationships between the tourism industry and civil society. In this sense, this experience is also relevant and possibly replicable on other human rights issues within the UN Millennium Goals and UN Global Compact agenda.