Under the guiding principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, the mission of the Task Force is to support efforts to protect children from all forms of exploitation in tourism. Although its main focus is the protection against sexual exploitation of minors, it also includes child labour and the trafficking in children and young people. The Task Force and its Executive Committee will pursue the following objectives: read the objectives.

The Task Force for the Protection of Children in Tourism is a global action platform of tourism-related key-players from the government and the tourism industry sectors, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media associations. It operates as an open-ended network.

The Task Force was established by the World Tourism Organization in 1997 as a follow-up to the Stockholm Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (1996). During the first phase (1997-2007), the focus of the Task Force was the prevention of sexual exploitation of children in Tourism. In March 2007 (at the 20th Task Force meeting held in Berlin), the mandate was extended to cover all forms of exploitation of children and young people in Tourism (including child labour, trafficking in children, etc.).

The Task Force's on-line service, the Child Protection in Tourism Watch, provides information on current projects and activities, partners' tourism policy documents, national and regional actions, related facts & figures and other measures to help prevent exploitation of children in and through tourism networks (read more).