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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:43 am
Time: 11:43 am
Results for sex tourism (south east asia)
1 results foundAuthor: Peters, Heather A. Title: Sex, sun and heritage: Tourism threats and opportunities in South East Asia Summary: This study is the first of two recommended studies which were requested as part of the Sub-Regional Plan of Action (SPA) for the COMMIT Process. The objective of the study is to: Compile and analyze selected “best practice” of Cambodia and Thailand in dealing with trafficking and the tourism services sector. Based upon advice from a wide range of international experts, many developing countries take the tourism industry as a primary economic growth engine. Countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar have little industrial development within their borders, and few domestic products to export to their neighbors or the rest of the world. With encouragement from large international institutions such as the World Bank and the ADB, leaders in these countries have come to the conclusion that their most important resources are their natural assets; i.e., their environment and traditional culture(s) – hence, their reliance on the tourism industry to bring economic prosperity to their small economies. Despite set-backs caused by the Iraq war, followed by Sars, the tourism industry is booming. In 2004, more than 700 million tourists were recorded world wide; 119.1 million of these went to the Asia Pacific Region; and 17.8 million visited the GMS. Tourism is promoted by its advocates as a “clean” industry and one which can serve to preserve both traditional cultures and the environment. The reality is far more complex. The truth of tourism development is that while it can bring real economic benefits to local communities, underscore and strengthen local cultural traditions, draw attention to and even assist environmental protection, the potential exists for tourism to erode the very resources on which it depends. Tourism is, in essence, an external dynamic force which brings hitherto unknown and unpredictable elements into people’s lives and societies. Despite the successes of several tourism projects, the reality of tourism bringing economic benefits to poor local communities, supporting traditional cultures and protecting the environment is still an elusive ideal. For example, leakages in the GMS – except for Thailand – range between 25-40% (2005 GMS Tourism Strategy Report), a situation which indicates that the local communities are not the primary beneficiaries of tourism dollars. A circuit tour of the region’s primary World Heritage Sites, i.e. Lijiang in Yunnan, Luang Prabang in Laos, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, reveals the extreme stress the high volumes of tourists place on traditional culture. The on-going quest to increase numbers of visitors to sites is, in fact, eroding the very cultural and historical values for which the sites were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites in the first place. Tourism, thus, can introduce serious negative social impacts – impacts which are not an intrinsic part of tourism development, but which sadly accompany the kinds of tourism that are expanding rapidly in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. These serious negative social impacts include sex tourism and especially child sex tourism (CST). Both of these impacts can be linked with trafficking. The study investigates and analyzes a wide range of antitrafficking projects and activities implemented by government agencies, international agencies, non-governmental agencies and the private sector to address the “three Ps”, i.e. prevention, protection and prosecution. Because a large amount of trafficking is not directly or indirectly linked with tourism, the study concentrates on those projects which tackle the problem of Child Sex Tourism and its related solution, Child Safe Tourism. Although Child Sex Tourism is not the only form of trafficking found within the tourism industry, it is the most heinous, and is found in both Thailand and Cambodia. The study found that there were a wide range of specific stakeholders in both Thailand and Cambodia involved with tackling this problem. Details: Monrovia, CA: World Vision, 2007. 72p. Source: A report on best "practices" on tourism and traffikcing: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2012 at http://wvasiapacific.org/downloads/publications/sunsexheritage.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Asia URL: http://wvasiapacific.org/downloads/publications/sunsexheritage.pdf Shelf Number: 117608 Keywords: Child Sexual AbuseSex Tourism (South East Asia)Sex TraffickingSexual Exploitation |