The
Eleventh Meeting of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics has closed
with calls to make “Safe Coastal Tourism” a priority in coastal
destinations worldwide (Rome, Italy, 12-13 July,).
The
Committee heard from invited guest, Caroline Danneels, founder of the
non-profit organization “Safe Coastal Tourism”, on the importance
of safety precautions at beaches and marinas across the globe. Based
in the Flemish Community of Belgium, the organization works to raise
awareness of the crucial need for adequate safety measures and
the provision of
accurate information to tourists to prevent often fatal accidents at
coastal sites. Committee members drew particular attention to the
need for safety warnings, in the form of signs and flags, to alert
visitors to dangerous conditions, and the absolute necessity of
life-guards and life-buoys to aid in rescues, even during tourist
“low-season”.
As
the body responsible for promoting and monitoring the
implementation of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, the
Committee applauded the signature of the first Private Sector
Commitment to the Global Code of Ethics by 11 of Spain’s most
prominent tourism companies at the 1st International Congress on
Ethics and Tourism (15-16 September 2011, Madrid, Spain). This
Commitment represents a public pledge on behalf of tourism
enterprises to implement and promote the values enshrined in the Code
of Ethics, both by integrating ethical practices into their business
operations, and by reporting periodically to the Committee on their
actions in this regard.
The
body further analyzed a number of pressing ethical issues including
the fight against human trafficking and child exploitation, the road
to greater gender equality and accessibility in tourism, and
developments for the protection of tourists/consumers and tourism
enterprises. With reference to the latter, the Committee reiterated
its support for UNWTO’s preparation of an international legal
instrument in this area.
Committee
members further backed UNWTO’s firm stand against human
trafficking, especially child trafficking, in the tourism sector,
applauding the Organization’s signature of a cooperation agreement
with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in April
2012. In the sphere of accessible tourism, the Committee reasserted
its support of the collaboration between UNWTO, the Spanish ONCE
Foundation and ACS Foundation, as well as the European Network for
Accessible Tourism (ENAT), in the interest of improving tourism’s
accessibility, particularly for persons with disabilities.