Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold
Within 36 days of hosting of FIFA World Cup 2010, Cape Town Tourism CEO Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold has made it clear that the city will not tolerate those who participate in human trafficking. In a hard-hitting statement, Du Toit-Helmbold said this week: “Our message is very clear; we welcome visitors from all over the world, but you will not be welcome if you exploit our women and children.”
She said the protection of women and children, through tourism, was essential, and that statistics suggest that within 20 minutes, you can order fast food from any restaurant – and a child less than six years of age. “It’s a global problem,” said Du Toit-Helmbold, “And it’s a problem that often goes hand in hand with developing societies.”
“When people travel with the intention to exploit women and children, it becomes a matter of interest for tourism… We cannot turn a blind eye and just focus on the pretty postcard pictures. There is a dark underbelly in tourism whether we like it or not, and that underbelly needs to be exposed and proactively dealt with,” Du Toit-Helmbold said.
“If we don’t do this, we can’t call ourselves a responsible industry. So, under the auspices of responsible tourism, we also tackle things like sex tourism, child sex tourism, the exploitation of women and human trafficking.”
Du Toit-Helmbold is part of an international task team looking at the protection of women and children through tourism. She says Cape Town Tourism will be a co-signatory to the Code against Human Trafficking, which is currently being developed. Her organization is also putting together a responsible visitors’ code, offering people some guidelines around how to be responsible visitors to South Africa.
“We can all talk a good game, but it’s really about developing some practical tools to empower the industry and to empower visitors to Cape Town. “Our message is plain and simple; if you are going to make yourself guilty of irresponsible behavior, you are not welcome.”
Cape Town Tourism is a member of Fair Trade in Tourism SA (FTTSA) and has worked together with this body on an anti-trafficking initiative. Fair Trade in Tourism SA is South Africa’s leading responsible tourism non-governmental organization (NGO) and is launching a new project to institutionalize the Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct (“the Code”) in South Africa, in partnership with the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) and in collaboration with South African tourism stakeholders, including Cape Town Tourism.
The NGO hopes to welcome at least 10 leading industry players as Code signatories by June 2010. “FTTSA believes that protecting children at risk is a critical element of ‘2010 readiness,’ and we look forward to supporting tourism enterprises of all shapes and sizes to implement the Code,” said FTTSA executive director, Jennifer Seif.
Seif added that during the FIFA event, a national campaign to protect children will be ongoing, including messages – specifically designed to help prevent and report child sexual exploitation and other forms of child abuse – targeting tourists.
May 12, 2010 at 3:43 pm
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