The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and It’s a Penalty (IAP), an organization that’s dedicated to the eradication of abuse, exploitation and human trafficking worldwide, have partnered to raise public awareness, and work together to fight and eventually end these global crimes.
The two groups today signed a ‘memorandum of understanding' (MoU), acknowledging the international Travel & Tourism community’s inherent opportunity to proactively take a stand against human trafficking, as well as develop best practices to help stamp it out.
The global tourism body and the activist charity organization will bring their respective areas of expertise to bear in collaborating on major research projects to inform the development and promotion of best practices and protocols.
The strategic partnership will enable collaboration, not just between the two organizations, but also the WTTC’s members and IAP’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with trafficking victims and survivors. WTTC members include 200 chairpersons, presidents and CEOs of many of the world’s foremost Travel & Tourism companies from all around the globe.
WTTC and IAP will support each other and their shared humanitarian agenda by contributing to one another’s insight pieces and sharing instructive videos and resources to educate and raise awareness among the traveling public about these issues.
Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President at WTTC said: “We are excited to enter this partnership with It’s a Penalty to broaden the scope of both our organizations’ knowledge and influence on the incredibly important subject of human trafficking. We believe that together we will be able to share our collective expertise and continue to shed light and awareness on the horrors of human trafficking. Travel & Tourism can play a proactive and meaningful role in addressing this global crime.”
Sarah de Carvalho, CEO of It’s a Penalty said: “It’s a Penalty is delighted to be partnering with WTTC to combat abuse, exploitation and human trafficking. IAP commends WTTC’s global taskforce to help prevent and combat human trafficking. We believe that the platform, partnership and strategic collaboration with WTTC, and the Travel & Tourism industry are essential in order to achieve incredible impact.”
IAP harnesses the power of global sports and high-profile athletes in leading awareness-raising campaigns against exploitation and human trafficking. Collaborations and partnerships with strategic stakeholders, NGOs, governments and corporates are key to enabling the success of its overall mission.
