Putting Tourism to Rights

The right to turn on a tap and see water come out, the right to access coastal land to sustain your livelihood, the right to walk around your neighbourhood, the right to privacy - these are all human rights we take for granted. But what if these rights were taken away from us - and what if the reason was because of tourism?

This is the reality facing thousands of people every day. The tourism industry is so large and consuming that it frequently violates people's human rights, particularly in destination countries in the developing world.
Tourism Concern believes that human rights must be protected as a priority if tourism is to contribute meaningfully to eradicating poverty. Our Putting Tourism to Rights campaign is demanding an end to human rights abuses in tourism. We are calling on the UK Government and tourism industry to take steps to ensure that the rights of local people in tourism destinations are protected in line with international law

The Issue

Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing services industries in the world. It has the potential to generate many jobs and create great wealth. However, all too often, tourism’s benefits are not equally shared. In fact, tourism development frequently violates people's human rights, particularly poor and vulnerable communities in developing countries, exacerbating poverty and trapping people in cycles of deprivation.

Such rights abuses include:

• Forced evictions from homes and lands to make way for tourism developments

• Loss of livelihoods

• Environmental damage and loss of access to natural resources, such as grazing land, coastal areas and fresh water

• Exploitation of tribal peoples and their cultures as tourist attractions

• Poor pay and working conditions for tourism industry employees

These abuses arise out of government failure to protect the rights of citizens, as required of them under international law. In their pursuit of foreign investment and currency exchange, many governments prioritise the interests of big business, allowing exploitation and human rights violations to go unchecked. This is particularly the case in many poor countries, where adherence to human rights norms and standards may be weak. Businesses also have a responsibility to respect the human rights of workers and local communities. However, market competition and consumer demand for cheap holidays means these responsibilities are often not upheld.
The Rights of Indigenous peoples: case study of Botswana’s Bushmen

Tourism Concern's solutions

Tourism Concern is calling on all major tourism stakeholders to take action to ensure that the human rights of individuals and communities in tourism destinations, and industry employees are respected and protected.

Tell Hilton to protect children from sexual exploitation!

Please sign the Avaaz petition urging Hilton, one of the most renowned hotel chains in the world, to implement The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children From Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism .

After brothels were found in Hilton hotels in Ireland and China, thousands sent letters to the hotel chain in protest. Hilton reportedly acknowledged that it needed to address the problem of child prostitution, but to date no concrete steps have been taken.

Hotels are one of the primary places where children are exploited and sold for sex to tourists. However, to date Hilton has declined to sign up to the international Code of Conduct that would commit it to addressing this issue by training its staff to detect, report and assist girls and women forced into the sex industry. If Hilton were to sign up to The Code, the impact would be huge; it would create a network of Hilton employees in 77 countries and 32,000 hotels working against the sexual exploitation of women and children in tourism.

The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism helps hotels to train their staff to recognise victims of sexual exploitation and underage prostitution, educate their guests about the dangers of sex tourism, liaise with local law enforcement and advocate for victim rights. It works by creating a first line of defence against sex trafficking around the world.

To date, more than 900 companies across the world, including other major hotel chains, have signed The Code. Hilton is under pressure to join them. Click below to urge Hilton to join in the fight against sex trafficking:

For further information on this issue, visit ECPAT's website

WET Appeal – Help ensure community water rights are protected

Tourism Concern’s Water Equity in Tourism programme (WET) is striving to ensure that the water rights of communities living in tourism destinations are protected in the face of growing competition from the industry, and in a world where freshwater for many is becoming increasingly scarce. The FAO estimates that by 2025, 1 800 million people will be living in regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be enduring water stress.

Progress so far has been strong, but we now need your support to continue this vital work.