The Code is a network of inspiring tourism companies around the world who are choosing to take action to protect children in contexts of tourism and travel.
We showcase the tourism heroes who are taking the lead on this important issue to help protect children from sex tourism and other abuse.
Today we celebrate the exciting work of Thomas Cook in the United Kingdom.
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Thomas Cook Group is a global travel company based in the United Kingdom. The group owns a number of tour operators, as well as charter airlines, travel booking websites, and is one of the United Kingdom’s largest multi-channel travel retailers.
Over 160 years ago company founder and namesake Thomas Cook created the first package holiday out of a sense of social responsibility, believing people’s lives would be greatly improved if they became better educated through travel.
Today Thomas Cook is still inspired by those values, believing that it is possible to make a world of difference, not only to their customers but to all the people whose lives they touch. Their sustainable tourism goal is to make a positive difference to the people and environment of destinations they travel to.
Thomas Cook joined The Code in 2012 as part of their worldwide commitment to responsible tourism.
“As part of our Group-wide Child Protection Policy, and as signatories to The Code, we are committed to raising awareness amongst all our staff on the many issues surrounding child protection as it relates to our business. We believe it is the responsibility of us all to look after the children that are touched by our business in some way, whether they are the children of our customers, children living in destinations or children in our home communities where we operate,” explains Nancy Brock, Thomas Cook’s Sustainable Business Manager.
Last month Thomas Cook UK trained 5,241 retail staff in a nationwide exercise to raise awareness of risks to children in tourism and how to protect them. The sessions addressed three key areas: travelling child sex offenders, street children begging or trading, and orphanage tourism.
“Child Protection within tourism needs to address many issues, including child prostitution and trafficking, orphanage tourism and orphanage voluntourism, street children begging and trading. All of these may potentially, if unwittingly and unwillingly, be facilitated by our business as a travel provider. We wanted our teams to be aware of the issues to help them feel confident in responding to them appropriately,” says Ms Brock.
Staff enjoyed their learning opportunity, with 85% rating the sessions with 4 or 5 stars. They also shared this positive feedback on the training:
Thank you Thomas Cook for being a shining example to other travel companies in the United Kingdom and around the world. Together we can raise awareness and train our tourism staff to help protect children in tourism.
Interested in joining The Code to take action for children?
Simply visit www.thecode.org/join to find out more and apply today or call us to speak to one of our friendly team.
When you join The Code you receive all the tools and support you need to succeed, including an online training program for staff, available in 10 languages.
