CHILD LABOUR STUDY

[David Arnott <darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Please send any information, contacts, etc  you think could
assist the project outlined below to 
Christine Pluss, Email 106643.233@compuserve.com
                                

CHILD LABOUR IN TOURISM
                                
Background and objectives of the Child Labour in Tourism
project initiated by the Arbeitskreis Tourismus & Entwicklung
Basel (AkT&E)* in cooperation with the International Labor
Organization (ILO), the International Union of Food,
Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied
Workers' Association (IUF), and the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation (SDC)
                                
                                
At least 13 to 19 million children and young people under 18
are estimated to be working in the tourism sector worldwide,
concludes Maggie Black, the author of "In the Twilight Zone",
a report on child labour in the hotel, tourism and catering
industry, published by the International Labour Organization
(ILO) in 1995.  Working from World Tourism Organization (WTO)
figures the ILO estimates that 10 to 15 per cent of tourism
workers world-wide are under 18.  As Maggie Black emphasizes
in her study, it is impossible to make any accurate estimate
of the number of children and young people who derive an
income - occasionally or permanently - from the very diverse
activities in the hotel, tourism and catering sector. This
rough projection of the amount of child labour in tourism may
be an under-estimate because of the fact that children and
young people working in the sector are often invisible and
always on the fringes of legality. This estimate also excludes
children working in jobs in the informal sector where most
children would be engaged.  However children working in
tourism certainly represent a substantial proportion of 
worldwide child labour. 
                                
Who are these children? Where are they working? Under what
conditions? Why do they work in tourism, hotels and small
restaurants? What are their hopes and aspirations? What is
being done to support them? 
                                
Compared to the rough estimate of the importance of the
phenomenon of child labour in tourism, there is a blatant lack
of data and information on children and young people involved
in tourism. This is despite the fact that tourism ranks as one
of the most important and fastest growing economic forces in
the world and as one of the world's biggest employers. 
                                
Over recent years the international campaign to End Child
Prostitution in Tourism (ECPAT) has drawn worldwide attention
to the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Since the World Congress on the Commercial Sexual Exloitation
of Children in Stockholm in 1996, programs of action,
rehabilitation, and prevention have been adopted by an
increasing number of states, NGOs, and also within the
tourism sector. The success of this campaign is most
encouraging because it allows a more differenciated analysis
of the situation and conditions of children and young
persons involved in tourism: By engaging in activities in the
hotel, tourism, catering and especially the entertainment
sector, children and young people are particularly exposed to
the risks of sexual exploitation. But it is clear that not all
the children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation
are involved in tourism occupations, and sexual exploitation,
although being one of the most intolerable forms of
exploitation, is certainly not the only exploitation that
children and young people working in tourism are exposed to.
The campaign has produced substantial information on
commercial sexual exploitation of children, but there is a
significant lack of data on child labour in the other areas of
tourism.
                                
                                
It might not be possible to make a full assement of working
conditions for children and young persons in tourism, since
these conditions cover a wide range of very different
situations, from familiy owned establishments to five star
hotels. Different ILO studies show that the tourism sector
offers numerous jobs with working and employment conditions
that leave much to be desired: long working hours, instability
of employment, low level of pay, little training and poor
chances for qualification. Recent developments in the travel
and tourism trade (liberalization, competition, concentration,
drop in travel fares, growth of subcontracting) and the
introduction of new technologies seem to reinforce the trend
towards more precarious, flexible employment conditions. It is
probable that child labour is increasing under the effects of
globalization of the tourism industry. 
                                
                                
This new project on Child Labour in Tourism is being launched
to develop strategies to eliminate all forms of exploitation
of children working in the hotel, catering and tourism sector
in the light of existing strategies to eliminate child labour
worldwide. The first phase of the project is dedicated to
collecting essential information and to draw attention to this
issue within the tourism sector, trade unions, national and
international bodies, and NGOs, particularly in the field of
development aid and cooperation. A situational analysis
outlining strategies and identfying partners to combat child
labour in tourism will be drafted in the form of a report to
be presented on the occasion of the International Labour
Conference in 1998, where a new convention aimed at
eliminating the most intolerable forms of child labour will be
the main topic on the agenda.
                                
We cannot talk about child labour without talking about the
tourism industry.
                                
                                
Christine Plss, Arbeitskreis Tourismus & Entwicklung
Basel/Switzerland, November 1997
______________________________________________________________
* Arbeitskreis Tourismus & Entwicklung (AkT&E - Working Group
Tourism and Development) is a swiss based NGO concerned with
the implications of international tourism for the development
of countries, regions and local communities. It aims to inform
about the impact of tourism on the economy, the culture, and
the environment of host societies and to influence travellers,
representatives of the tourism industry, and politicians to
adopt strategies and behaviors that will minimize adverse
effects. The project on Child Labour in Tourism relates
directly to previous studies and campaigns realised by AkT&E
on sextourism, child prostitution, and the issues of gender
and work in tourism.