One of the most sensitive issues that the tourism industry faces refers to the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It mainly happens in developing countries, by tourists coming from developed countries. The travel and tourism industry make efforts towards preventing and reducing the commercial sexual exploitation of children by implementing the Child-Protection Code for the Protection of Children from Sexual Commercial Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.

The Child Protection Code offers the travel industry (beside tour operators, also airline companies, hotels, travel agents, etc.) guidelines to help reduce the prostitution of minors in a concrete and visible way. The aim of the Code is to make travellers and travel staff more aware of sexual exploitation of children.

Suppliers of tourism services adopting the Child Protection Code commit themselves to implement the following six criteria:

• To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children.
• To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.
• To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
• To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
• To provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations.
• To report annually.