Hotels Join Fight to Eliminate the Sexual Exploitation of Minors
Airport taxi drivers were the first. Then came the car rental companies in forming part of the group. Now, the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles  has adopted the project called "Código de Conducta" that aims to protect children and adolescents against sexual exploitation that is associated with tourism.

The companies that form part of the group assume the responsibility to eliminate and/or prevent the sexual exploitation of minors by refusing to provide service and report incidents to the authorities.

The project has the support of the Costarricense de Operadores de Turismo (ACOT), the Asociación Costarricense de Profesionales en Turismo (Acoprot), Visión Mundial Costa Rica and Save the Children Foundation.

According to information by the United Nations, the sexual exploitation of minors, that also includes trafficking of minors, is the third largest business in the world, just behind drug and arms trafficking.

The Código de Conducta, that will now form part of the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles and it's members will aim to train hotel personnel to spot any potential sexual abuses with the hopes to prevent and report any problems.

Hotels will begin to post their rules of conduct to let their customers know that they will not tolerate the sexual exploitation of minors and use graphic posters to bring the point home.

The Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles (CCH) was founded in 1940 as non-profit organization and was known form many years as the Asociación Costarricense de Hoteles y Afines (ACHA), when in 1995 it adopted it's present name.

The CCH represents more than 250 hotel companies - small hotels and chains - in Costa Rica.

The Código de Conducta has also been adopted by travel agents and cruise operators, totaling some 50 companies with some 2.000 employees trained to identify, prevent and report the sexual exploitation of minors by tourists.