“TOURISM TIDBITS”

Posted on May 22, 2025

“TOURISM TIDBITS”

“TOURISM TIDBITS” 

FROM  

TOURISM & MORE, INC.

 

 

The goal of “Tourism Tidbits” is to provide travel professionals with a monthly, easy-to-read overview of creative ideas. With proper referencing, we invite you to quote or reproduce “Tourism Tidbits” and to pass it along to friends.

 

“Tourism Tidbits” is published monthly in English. Spanish, and Portuguese. The Spanish translation is from Ferran Anguera of Barcelona, Spain.  The Portuguese translation is by Lillian Donati Godinho of Lisbon, Portugal.

 

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Tourism & More’s

 

Tourism Tidbits

for April 2025

 

TOURISM & MORE’S “TOURISM TIDBITS”

April 2025

Protecting our Most Important Asset: our Children:

Tourism’s Fight against Child Sexual Exploitation

 

Tourism security has traditionally been about protecting visitors from themselves, from other tourists, and from locals who seek to rob or steal from them, commit fraud against them or in one way or another verbally or physically assault the visitor.  Unfortunately, not all visitors are good, and unfortunately in some nations around the world children are sold into sexual slavery to be used by and at the visitor’s pleasure.

Despite what most people want to believe there are people who travel for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a minor.  There are many reasons for this social sickness, ranging from the belief that people in the lesser developed world are inferior to the notion that the child predator believes that a child is more likely to be virginal.  No matter how one views the social sickness of sexual exploitation, it is always crime. Needless to say, no matter what the reason given to justify this crime, child sexual exploitation is illegal and destructive to the child and to society.  The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a fundamental violation of human rights.  Such exploitation has existed throughout history, yet it is only in recent decades that the scale of these crimes has been brought to the attention of governments, the tourism industry, and the public.

To make matters even more difficult, visitors who engage in child-sex tourism do not fall into any one pattern.  These people may be habitual or experimental abusers.  The results however are always the same; the child is left scarred for life.  There are numerous hypotheses as to why child-sex tourism is viewed as so prevalent.  Among these are:

  1. That there is not necessarily an increase in these crimes, just that we now have better reporting of crimes against children
  2. The introduction of low-cost carriers has made travel to more distant locations more affordable
  3. Being away from home allows people a sense of anonymity and a lowering of inhibitions.

 

Child-sex tourists may be habitual abusers, who deliberately seek out children for sex, or they may be “situational” abusers, who engage in sexual acts with children out of experimentation often fueled by opportunity or a feeling of anonymity as a result of being away from their home. The rapid and global growth of low-cost air travel, for example, has made airfares comparatively more accessible, so new and emerging destinations are within reach of a high number of tourists, including potential perpetrators of child-sex crimes.

Sexual tourism — and especially that which preys on minors — can become a social cancer that gnaws at the very fabric of a tourism industry. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly how many children around the world are victims to such exploitation.  The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that the numbers of victims may be in the millions.  Human trafficking as an illegal industry is thought to generate billions of US dollars overall; it is believed that nearly 60% of all trafficking worldwide is for sexual exploitation, with over 20% of the victims being children.

In order to begin to deal with this problem, Tourism Tidbits offers the following suggestions.

-Recognize that the problem exists in your community. One of the great problems with this hidden social illness is that many tourism communities are unaware or choose not to see the problem.  Ignoring a problem of this magnitude does not make the problem disappear, but rather only increases the problem’s intensity.

-Develop a task force and work with local law enforcement to analyze and develop strategies.  When it comes to sexually-oriented tourism one solution does not fit all.  Does this form of exploitation exist due to lack of child protection services or laws?  Is poverty a major factor? Have law enforcement officials not given this problem the attention that it deserves?

-Develop consequences for those participating in taking advantage of children.   There tends to be numerous categories of people who are involved with sexual exploitation, among them are: the “consumer” (the person “renting” the child), the “provider”, such as a kidnapper or parent who “sells” the child and the “middlemen,” such as hoteliers who permit children to be exploited on their premises.  All three need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  That means that hotels need to be informed that if they turn a blind eye toward child sexual exploitation they will be severely fined, imprisoned, and further that  their hotel may be closed.

-. Establish and publicize a zero-tolerance policy. Tourism communities that suffer from this problem need to publicize that they have a zero-tolerance policy.  This policy means that tourism officials need to produce information warning visitors that the exploitation of children will not be tolerated.  This information needs to be at airports, in hotel rooms, and at tourism information centers.  Tourism professionals know how to market and it is their responsibility to use their marketing capabilities to expose a problem and produce travel warnings as a way to help alleviate the problem.

-Be mindful that children may be used in many formats.  Not only does sexual tourism exploit children for immediate sexual gratification, but children may be used also for the production of pornographic films and videos.  This means that new laws may be needed to protect children or existing laws may need to be enforced to a greater extent.

-Work with the local communities.  The fight against the sexual exploitation of children is a way that the tourism community can show a community that it cares. Work with local social organizations, with religious organizations, and any other group that is also concerned about this problem.  By showing that tourism officials are not only concerned about this problem, but prepared to work to solve it, the local tourism industry will go a long way to winning the hearts and minds of local residents.

-Use words that force people to realize that what is being done is wrong. Tourism uses too many euphemisms.  When it comes to child exploitation the stronger the word the better.  For example, rather than saying “child pornography” call it “child abuse viewing materials”.  Make the words as strong as possible as a way of shaming people.

-Do not be afraid to publicize the names of people who are abusing children. Let the world know that these people are selling or purchasing children or allowing the use of illegal and immoral activities on their premises.  The essential point is that tourism can become a major force for good and show the world that the tourism industry cares.

For more information on this topic see Peter Tarlow and Andrew Spencer’s new book Human Trafficking and the Tourism Industry published this February 2025 by Emerald Publishers and now available on Amazon.

 

The Art of the Assessment Study
Assessment studies are to tourism what medical check-ups are to people.  Every locale needs to have a full assessment study to determine both tourism strengths and weaknesses, to build a better industry and to avoid future problems.  Please contact Tourism & More for details.
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TOURISM AND MORE’S WIDE RANGE OF SPEECHES AND TRAINING SEMINARS

For a complete listing of topics and information, please check our web page http://www.tourismandmore.com/contact or e-mail us at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com

Please contact us at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com for more information regarding costs and available dates.

All seminars and speeches can be presented in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.

1) Tourism challenges in a post-Covid world.

2)  Political advocacy through tourism: Using tourism to change the perception of your locale, business or nation

3) New forms of tourism: from agro-tourism to dark tourism

4) Tourism and Heath: Surviving the Next Pandemic.

5) Surviving man-made and natural disasters

6) Successful and failed tourism marketing strategies.

7) Avoiding tourism crises by using good risk management techniques

8) Dealing with over- and under- tourism, how to match the number of visitors to your locale’s capabilities

9) Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in the Face of Terrorism

10) Training Your Police: Tourism Oriented Policing (TOPPs), how it works and why it is essential for a viable tourism industry.

11) Generational Marketing: How to market tourism to diverse age groups

12) Medical tourism: its advantages and the challenges

13) Something from Nothing: The Art of Creating New Attractions.

14) Dealing with the Media: Transforming the Media into your friend

15) Selling to the Latin American Tourism Market: No, they are not all the same!

16) Selling to the US Market:  One country and lots of niche groups

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Books on Tourism in English 

In alphabetical order by title. Most of these books are available at Amazon.com or from the publisher

 

(see below for Spanish and Portuguese language books) 

1) A Supply Chain Management Guide to Business by Betty Kildow; BettyKildow@comcast.net

2) Beach Safety and the Law, Edited by Jeff Wilks published by Queensland (Australia) Law Society

3) Challenges to US and Mexican Police and Tourism Stability: Peter E. Tarlow, Emerald Publishing. Available at the Emerald Book store or at Amazon https://books.emeraldinsight.com/book/detail/challenges-to-us-and-mexican-police-and-tourism-stability/?k=9781803824062

4) Event Risk Management and Safety (ISBN 0-471-40168-4) by Peter E. Tarlow, published by John Wiley & Sons.  Presenting theory and practical applications. To purchase this book, visit http://www.wiley.com or http://www.amazon.com. If you would like Dr. Tarlow to speak or train people in this area, please contact him at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com

5) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, by Stanley Plog, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004.  Available through the website of Pearson Prentice-Hall for $25.

6) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (7th edition) by Philip T. Kotler (Author), John T. Bowen (Author), James Makens Ph.D. (Author), Seyhmus Baloglu (Author). Available on Amazon.

7) Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis, by Eli Avraham and Eran Ketter Published by Elsevier

 

8) Personal Reconstruction, by Peter E. Tarlow, Tom Marrs, Nathaniel Tarlow & Eduardo Leite. How to prevent or recover from a personal crisis. Available at Amazon.

 

9) Personal Resilience, by Peter E. Tarlow and Séverine Obertelli, Quest Publishing, Miami, Florida

10) Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis by Dr. David Beirman: Published by Allen & Unwin (Australia & SE Asia) and CABI Publishing North America/ Europe 2003. For more information contact david.beirman@uts.edu.au

or go to: https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/tourism-crises-and-destination-recovery/book256475

 

11) Sports Travel Security by Peter E. Tarlow, published by Elsevier

12) Terrorism and the Economy, edited by Karin W. Glaser, For more information please go to: http://www.elevenpub.com/law/catalogus/terrorism-and-the-economy-1#

13) The Economics of Tourism Destinations, by Norbert Vanhove, Published by Elsevier

14) The Ethics of Terrorism: Innovative Approaches from an International Perspective. Eds Thomas Albert: Publisher: Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Il; USA.

15) The Sage Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism; Three Volume Series, Published by Sage

16) Tourism Crises and Destination Recovery, by David Beirman, Published by Sage Australia. For more information contact David Beirman at David.Beirman@uts.edu.au

17) The Tourism Gaze 3.0 by John Urry and Jonas Larsen.  An all-new updated version of a great classic. Published by Sage.

18) Tourism: Principles and Practices, by John Fletcher, Alan Fyall, David Gilbert, and Stephen Wanhill.  Published by Pearson

19) Tourism and Mobility, Burns, P. and Novelli M. eds. (Wallingford: CABI)

20) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths and Inequalities, Burns, P. and Novelli, M. eds. (2008). (Wallingford: CABI)

21) Tourism Safety and the Security for the Caribbean, Drs. Andrew Spencer and Peter E. Tarlow, Published by Emerald

22) Tourism in Turbulent Times. Toward Safe Experiences for Visitors. Edited by Jeff Wilks, Donna Pendergast, and Peter Leggart. Published by Elsevier.

22) Tourism Management: Analysis, Behavior and Strategy, edited by Woodside and Martin, published by Cabi, London, England

23) Tourism-Oriented Policing and Protective Services, Peter E. Tarlow, published by IGI

24) Tourism Security: Strategies for Effectively Managing Travel Risk and Safety by Peter E. Tarlow,  Elsevier, ISBN: 978-0-12-411570-5

25) Tourism Security & Safety, from Theory to Practice. Edited by Yoel Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, published by Elsevier.

26) The 2020 Election: A Survivor’s Guide; Peter E. Tarlow and Steve Vincent, Doppler Printing

27) Twenty Years of Tourism Tidbits: by Dr. Peter E. Tarlow and Dr. Tom Marrs.  Available now on Kindle and Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/TWENTY-YEARS-TOURISM-TIDBITS-ebook/dp/B004Q9TIWW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1299276788&sr=1-2

28) 24 Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Small-Scale Solutions by Susan Guyette, Ph.D. ISBN: 978-0-9858788-0-1, On Amazon.com

29) 25 Marketing Strategies to Build Your Outdoor Recreation Business by Evanne Schmarder and Peter Pelland. Published by Train Rec Productions. Please contact E. Schmarder at evanne@roadabode.com to purchase this book or find it on Amazon

 Libros en español/ Livros em Português

1.  Abordagem Multidisciplinar dos Cruzeiros Turísticos (A Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Cruises) por Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, Ericka Amorim, Cyntia Andrade, Nina Cardona  Valéria Mariotti. Por favor contato Ericka Amorim: erickaaa@msn.com.

 

2) Antropologia e Turismo. Teorias, métodos e praxis, por Xerardo Pereiro e Filipa Fernande. Para comprarlo dirijase a

<http://www.pasosonline.org/es/colecciones/pasos-edita/151-numero-20-antropologia-e-turismo?

 

3) Desarrollo del turismo en América Latina: fases, enfoques e internacionalización por Wallingre, N. Disponible en http://eyapublicaciones.web.unq.edu.ar

4) Geografía y Turismo. Aspectos territoriales del manejo y gestión del turismo. Editorial Félix Varela. La Habana, 2013, 295 páginas. Autor: Eros Salinas Chávez, contacto:  esalinas@ftur.uh.cu

5)  Inversión Hotelera, por Alfredo Ascanio. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php

6).   La Nueva Fiebre del Oro. Las otras ciudades del turismo en el Caribe (Varadero, Bavaro-Punta Cana).  Para obter uma copiea deste livro, visite: GGU-AGE: http://www.uib.es/ggu/publicaciones.html OCDS UIB:http://cooperacio.uib.cat/digitalAssets/221/221991_Las-otras-ciudades-del-turismo-en-El-Caribe.pdf

 

7)  ¿Ocio o….Neg-Ocio? por Abelardo Pagani

8) Principios, Organización, y práctica de turismo, Ramón Martín, Editorial Felix Valela, Habana, Cuba

9) Productos Turísticos, Medina, Santqamariana, y Salinas,  Escuela de Altos Estudios de Hoteleria y Turismo, La Habana, Cuba

10) Turismo en el Caribe, por “Jesús Manuel González Pérez y otros.  Contacto Dr. Gonzalez por información adicional]: jesus.gonzalez@uib.es

11) Turismo Sustentable, por Alfredo Ascanio y Marcus Vinicius. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php

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About the Author:
Peter E. Tarlow, Ph.D. is the President of Tourism & More, Inc., a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA, and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the areas of the sociology of tourism, economic development, tourism safety and security. Tarlow speaks at governors’ and state conferences on tourism and conducts seminars throughout the world and for numerous agencies and universities.

If you know of anyone else who might enjoy “Tourism Tidbits,” please send his/her email address to ptarlow@tourismandmore.com, Please let us know of any topic that you would like to see covered by “Tourism Tidbits.” We invite others to submit articles for consideration for publication.

You are welcome to reproduce “Tourism Tidbits” or any part of “Tourism Tidbits” with proper referencing.  We hope that you will see “Tourism Tidbits” as a place where tourism, visitor, and travel professionals exchange ideas and information. “Tourism Tidbits” does not offer or provide specific legal or financial advice. Our goal is to provide a “review” for industry personnel and discuss provocative issues. We remind all readers that every specific business decision should be made only after you have done the proper research. The authors accept no responsibility for any loss due to any information published in “Tourism Tidbits.”

All articles sent to “Tourism Tidbits” and accepted for publication are owned by “Tourism Tidbits” and may be subjected to editorial review and rewriting (with permission of the author). All questions about “Tourism Tidbits”, suggestions, or cancellations should be addressed to Dr. Peter E. Tarlow at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com.