Tourism has expanded considerably over the last few decades. According to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourist arrivals increased from 674 million people in 2000 to 1,480 million in 2019. This multi-billion dollar industry is supported by millions of workers, mega infrastructure projects and a global web of travelling means. Tourism is intrinsically linked to other sectors such as construction, transportation, and hospitality, and often shares the human rights risk that these sectors face, in addition to the human rights risks the tourism sector creates itself.
Global tourism can have some clear positive effects on the economic and social well-being of both tourists and local populations. However, the tourism sector can also bring far-reaching negative human rights impacts on workers, local communities and tourists, in addition to impacts on the environment – both local and global, through the air travel of tourists, for example. A number of the risks workers face in the tourism sector are shared with workers generally. However, there are specific risks for workers in the tourism sector; marginalised groups such as women, children, migrant workers and indigenous communities all over the world are the ones most heavily affected by the adverse impacts of tourism, especially in economically underdeveloped countries.
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The human rights risks of tourism include:
- abuses of labour rights and poor working conditions, including a lack of written contracts, long working hours and excessive overtime, lack of protective gear, which can take the form of modern slavery and exploitation;
- subjecting marginalised groups, such as women, children, migrant workers, persons with disabilities or indigenous peoples, to discriminatory practices by companies or tourists;
- negative impacts on land rights;
- negative impacts on culture of communities and heritage sites;
- negative impacts on the environment and climate change.
- International Tourism Partnership has launched the Principles on Forced Labour that is designed to guide hotel industry to preventing forced labour in their business activities and supply chains.
- Global Sustainable Tourism Council has developed Performance Indicators for hotels and tour operators that aspire to guide the respective industries to contribute to sustainable tourism.
- A Practitioner’s Guide for Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) in Tourism, developed by Twentyfifty, Hamburg Foundation for Business Ethics and Institute for sustainable tourism, is designed to aid practitioners conduct HRIAs in different sectors within the industry, such as a tourism destination with beach hotels and excursions.
- The Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism, a non-profit association promoting human rights, has produced several operational guidelines and tools for the actors and contexts in the industry of tourism. Recently it also published a Human Rights Impact Assessment Report for the tourism industry in Thailand and Myanmar, underlining main contextual human rights impacts, including labour rights, economic inclusion, environmental impacts, children’s rights, etc.
- The Myanmar Tourism Sector Wide Impact Assessment carried out by the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) in partnership with its co-founders, the Danish Institute of Human Rights and the Institute of Human Rights and Business, is intended to identify and document the potential and actual adverse impacts of the tourism industry in Myanmar and support responsible business practices in the growing sector of tourism in Myanmar.
- Other important studies include: Impact Assessment of Tourism on Communities and Children in Zanzibar, which has been conducted by UNICEF Tanzania in collaboration with Zanzibar’s state institutions;
- Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs) in India and Kenya conducted by the Swiss travel agency Kuoni.
References
UNICEF Tanzania, Assessment of the Impact of Tourism on Communities and Children in Zanzibar, 2019; The UNICEF, Children and the hotel industry in Mexico, 2017; The U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020; The UNWTO’s Global Report on Women in Tourism, 2019 edition; The UNWTO Manual on Accessible Tourism for All, 2015; The UNWTO, Global Code of Ethics for Tourism; The UNWTO, COP25 Report, 2019; The ILO, Guidelines on Decent Work and Socially Responsible Tourism, 2017; San Marino Declaration of Accessible Tourism, 2014; The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), Code of Good Conduct, 2015; ECPAT International, Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism, May 2016; The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, On Shaky Ground: Migrant Workers’ Rights in Qatar & UAE Construction, 2019; Amnesty International, Destination: Occupation; Tourism Watch and Working Group on Tourism and Development, Tourism in Sri Lanka: Human Rights Due Diligence of Tour Operators in Post-Conflict Areas Report, 2015; Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism, Human Rights Impact Assessment in Thailand and Myanmar, 2019; Institute for sustainable tourism, Hamburg Foundation for Business Ethics and twentyfifty, a Practitioner’s Guide for Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) in Tourism, 2017; International Tourism Partnership, the Principles on Forced Labour; The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), the Danish Institute of Human Rights and the Institute of Human Rights and Business, the Myanmar Tourism Sector Wide Impact Assessment, 2015; Kuoni, Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) in India, 2014; Kuoni, Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) in Kenya, 2012; Tarik Dogru et al., Employee earnings growth in the leisure and hospitality industry, Tourism Management, Volume 74, 2019, Andreas Neef, Tourism, Land Grabs and Displacement, 2019
What National Action Plans say on Tourism sector
Belgium (2017 - open)
The Belgian NAP does not explicitly address the Tourism sector.
Chile (2017-2020)
Pillar 2: The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
Strand 2: Promotion of corporate due diligence in the field of human rights
Action Point 2.2 [page 55]
The Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism will:
- Create working groups in conjunction with the Under-Secretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Under-Secretariat of Tourism, which will have the duty to analyse and create mechanisms allowing to monitor these sectors regarding their respect for human rights. It will encourage and work with SEP for the adoption of an audit system in the field of human rights.
Colombia (2020-2022)
I. CONTEXT
(…)
Strategy “Commitment for the future of Colombia” [“Compromiso por el futuro de Colombia”]
Job creation: the government seeks increasing employment through a strategy that combines support to Small and medium enterprises (which generate around 90% of employment in the country), acceleration of infrastructure projects, incentives to orange economy [economía naranja] projects_, development in connectivity and digital transformation and support to sector specially impacted by the pandemic such as tourism and the hotel industry.
Czechia (2017-2022)
The Czech NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Denmark (2014-open)
The Danish NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Finland (2014-2016)
The Finnish NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
France (2017-open)
The French NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Georgia (2018-2020)
The Georgian NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Germany (2016-2020)
1. Key areas for action
CHALLENGES IN CORPORATE PRACTICE
2.1 Ensuring the protection of human rights in supply and value chains
The current situation [Page 20-21]
With support from the Federal Government funded German Global Compact Network, the “Round Table on Human Rights in Tourism” was launched in 2012. Its aim is to specify the precise requirements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for the tourism industry and to develop, in a multi-stakeholder format, solutions to human rights challenges that are specific to tourism.
…
→ The “Round Table on Human Rights in Tourism”, a model initiative for the development of a specific sectoral understanding of due diligence with regard to human rights, will receive increased financial support from the Federal Government.
Ireland (2017-2020)
The Irish NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Italy (2021-2026)
IV. Italian ongoing activities and future commitments
Sustainable development
“Italy, with regard to the Initiative undertaken in December 2019 by the new EU Commission for a Green Deal that aims by 2050 to a climate-neutral Europe, has established a fund for public investment (€ 4.24 billion for years from 2020 to 2023). It is intended to support innovative investment projects and programmes with a high level of environmental sustainability, which will be used to support investments in relation to circular economy, as well as in de-carbonisation, urban regeneration, sustainable tourism, adaptation and mitigation of risks from climate change.” (p. 34)
ANNEX 1 – Accountability Grid and Assessment Tools for the Implementation of the NAP
“2. Update the implementation assessment information of Legislative Decree No. 231/2001 in order to evaluate its extension in terms of objectives and application of the administrative liability of legal persons, and to pursue the following objectives in this area:
– the fight against the crisis and the rate of unemployment suffered by economic sectors most affected by measures to counter the epidemic emergency (catering and the gastronomic sector; tourism/hotel sector; small businesses/individuals in the craft and retail sectors of Made in Italy)” (p. 61)
Japan (2020-2025)
Chapter 2. Action Plan
2. Areas of the NAP
(1) Cross-cutting areas
E. Equality before the Law (Persons with Disabilities, Women, Persons of Diverse Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and Other Groups)
(Future measures planned)
(a) Promote barrier-free and universal design
(…)
- Promote accessibility across Japan by preparing and distributing a nationally consistent reception manual and implementing training for transportation, tourism, logistics restaurants and industries, and other industries. [Japan Tourism Agency]
(…)
( f )Ensure impartial treatment in public spaces or services
- Continue steady implementation in accordance with the Hotel Business Act (Act No. 138 of 1948), which does not permit denial of lodging, etc. solely on the grounds of belonging to a specific race or ethnicity, or of being a same sex couple. [Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]
- Steadily implement the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act on Development of Hotels for Inbound Tourists (Ministry of Transport Order No. 3 of 1993), which prohibits registered hotels from engaging in unfair discrimination against inbound international travelers or unfair discrimination between inbound international travelers and other guests concerning accommodation fees, food and beverage fees, and other services provided. [Japan Tourism Agency]
B. Promotion and Protection of Children’s Rights
(Future measures planned)
(…)
(b)Raise awareness about child prostitution through compliance with the Travel Agency Act
- Continue to engage in awareness-raising activities concerning child prostitution through compliance with the Travel Agency Act (Act No. 239 of 1952), and on-site inspections based on the Travel Agency Act to prevent travel agencies from being involved in organizing inappropriate tours such as those with the intention of child prostitution. [Japan Tourism Agency]
Lithuania (2015-open)
The Lithuanian NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Luxembourg (2020-2022)
‘Luxembourg’s NAP does not explicitly address this issue’
The 2020-22 NAP states the second edition of the National Action Plan complements the first NAP. Additional information about the first NAP can be found here.
Mongolia (2023-2027)
The Mongolian NAP makes no reference to the Tourism sector.
Netherlands (2022-2026)
The Dutch NAP makes no reference to the Tourism Sector.
Norway (2015-open)
The Norwegian NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Peru (2021-2025)
Slovenia (2018-open)
The Slovenian NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
South Korea (2018-2022)
The South Korean NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Spain (2017-2020)
B. PILLAR I: The State duty to protect human rights
B.1. FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
Guiding Principle 2. States should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations.
MEASURES:
[page 14]
- The self-regulation codes will also be promoted, taking as an example relevant sector experiences, such as the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) or the Code of Conduct for the protection of children and adolescents against sexual exploitation in the Tourism and Travel Industry, as well as the relevant labor conventions of the ILO.
Sweden (2017-open)
The Swedish NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Switzerland (2020-2023)
2 National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2020-23
2.1 Pillar 1: state duty to protect
Guiding Principles 1 to 3
2.1.2 Operational principles: legislative and information policy measures
Measure 8 Human rights in tourism
The tourism sector is a major driver of the Swiss economy. However, tourism can have adverse impacts on human rights. For example, local communities may be forced to vacate an area to make way for new hotels, workers may suffer human rights abuses, and children may be exploited and fall victim to sex tourism (cf. Measure 27 below).
The federal government supports the Roundtable on Human Rights in Tourism assessment of human rights impacts along the tourism value chain. This project, which will initially focus on Thailand, adopts a multi-stakeholder approach and seeks to develop practical guidelines for the tourism industry as a whole.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) plays a key part in implementing the UN Guiding Principles in the tourism sector. For example, it has developed and adopted a Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, which acknowledges respect for human rights as a fundamental principle.22 As a member of the UNWTO, the federal government is committed to actively promoting implementation of the UN Guiding Principles by the tourism industry.
Objective | Indicator | Responsibility |
Promotion of the implementation of UN Guiding Principles by the tourism industry.
|
Guidelines for the tourism industry. Example of Switzerland’s contribution to multilateral standards/recommendations. |
FDFA, EAER
|
2.2 Pillar 2: the corporate responsibility to respect human rights
2.2.2 Operational principles: human rights due diligence
Guiding Principles 16 to 21
Measure 27 Promote efforts to end all forms of child exploitation in supply chains
The federal government also takes action to prevent the exploitation of children in travel and tourism. The ‘Don’t look away’ initiative seeks to raise public awareness of the problem. Tourists and travellers who suspect cases of child sexual exploitation can go to the website, fill out the online report form and send it directly to the Federal Office of Police (fedpol). Increasing numbers of European countries are now joining the campaign. As part of its membership of ECPAT International, which works to end all forms of child sexual exploitation, the federal government launched the ‘Don’t look away’ campaign (ne-detournez-pas-le-regard.ch), regularly attends meetings organised by the network and contributes to discussions.
Taiwan (2020-2024)
Taiwan’s NAP does not explicitly address this issue.
Thailand (2019-2022)
The Thai NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Uganda (2021-2026)
CHAPTER THREE: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
3.6 Consumer Protection
(…)
6. The Tourism Act 2008 does not explicitly provide for the rights and obligations of consumers. It does not even have direct provisions on mechanisms for handling consumer complaints.
United Kingdom (2016-open)
The UK NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
United States (2016 - open)
The US NAP does not make an explicit reference to the tourism sector.
Vietnam (2023-2027)
The Vietnam NAP makes no reference to tourism.