A new report shows that hotels are increasing their employee training around human trafficking, in large part due to the work of ECPAT-USA. “No Vacancy for Child Sex Traffickers” explores how many hotels now have training, as well as the outcome of that training, based on a study by the NYU Wagner School of Public Service.
More than 50 percent of the hotels in USA have trained their staff to identify and responding to human trafficking, according to the study. Of those, 35 percent have used ECPAT-USA‘s training. Also impressive was the finding that 6 out of the 10 largest hotel chains in the world are working with ECPAT-USA’s training and 93 percent of managers said they had increased knowledge due to this training.
ECPAT began its mission to educate the US hotel industry—and the meetings and incentives industry—about human trafficking 13 years ago. In 2004, Carlson Companies, then owners of Radisson Hotels and many other brands, became the first major hotel company to sign the Code. Today, most of the largest hotel brands in the country have either signed the Code (The Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct, the only voluntary set of set of business principles travel and tour companies can implement to prevent child sex tourism and trafficking of children) or are training using ECPAT-USA’s vetted information.
According to ECPAT-USA Executive Director Carol Smolenski, the next initiative from her organization will be to create a training program for people who work in travel management companies. “That will bring the child protection message to a host of new companies and individuals, both in the travel industry and in the broader corporate community.”
Here’s more information about how to spot human trafficking in hotels.
