Nicaragua Willing to Stave Off Sexual Tourism

Representatives of the Nicaraguan tourism industry huddled with authorities from a number of state-run institutions that advocate for children’s rights in an effort to lay out guidelines to prevent sexual tourism from spreading across the country.

The event entitled First Forum on Sexual Exploitation and Illegal Trade of Children and Adolescents was planned by the Ministry of the Family and representatives of the nation’s Tourism Chamber, Ministry of Labor and governmental departments.

”What we’re proposing is a social policy tied up to economic development as part of the National Development Plan, and tourism is one of the top priorities in that plan. This situation is also one of the most worrisome issues for other countries because travel can sometimes encourage sexual tourism and that’s exactly what we want to prevent from happening,” said Carmen Largaespada, chief of the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Family.

According to Mrs. Largaespada, agreements with entrepreneurs also seek to create more awareness of the problem among both national and foreign tourists, as well as in the general public.