... is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by persons who travel from their own country to another usually less developed country to engage in sexual acts with children.

Child sex tourists come from all walks of life: they may be married or single, male or female, wealthy tourists or budget travellers. They may be paedophiles travelling specifically to exploit children or travellers who do not plan their trip with the intention of abusing a child.

Anonymity, availability of children and being away from the moral and social constraints that normally govern their behaviour can lead to abusive conduct in another country. They often justify their behaviour by claiming that it is culturally acceptable in that country or that they are helping the child by providing some money.

Tourism is not the cause of child sexual exploitation; however, exploiters make use of the facilities offered by the tourism industry (hotels, bars, nightclubs, etc.). In turn, the tourism industry may help to create a demand by promoting a location's exotic image. In general, sex tours are arranged informally amongst friends or colleagues; however, there have been cases of travel agents being prosecuted for supplying and arranging sex tours.

ECPAT groups around the world have worked in cooperation with both the tourism and travel industry as well as national government bodies in an effort to stem the flow of child sex tourists.

The Tourism and Travel Industry has played an instrumental role in combating commercial sexual exploitation of children. Industry responses include: setting up task forces and monitoring systems, codes of conduct, declarations, in-flight videos as part of education campaigns, training in tourism schools and training of tourism personnel.

Governments in both host and tourist sending countries are also responding to the problem of child sex tourism. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia (in partnership with ECPAT Australia) distributes information leaflets through airport customs officers, vaccination centres, passport offices and Australian embassies around the world.

The Tourism Ministry in Brazil (Embratur) has set up a police hotline to report instances of child sexual abuse, and encourages both nationals and visitors to use it. It also has a poster, leaflet and ticket jacket campaign with the slogan: "Beware. Brazil is watching you".

Destinations of child sex tourists appear to be changing. As prevention and protection efforts are stepped up in one country, child sex tourists may choose a neighbouring country as their destination. This move is apparent between the traditional choice of Thailand and the new preference of Cambodia for abusers.

Destinations may also change to a new region of the world, and may be a result of the quest for the "exotic" or mere convenience. Costa Rica is presented as "Thailand in the backyard" in the United States, and leads are given through the Internet to places where one can get a prostituted child cheaply.

The government has been accused of reacting to the problem too slowly, and for being underfunded and short staffed.

In recent years, however, the government through a child sex tourism commission has conducted police training, amended the Penal Code, and begun a prevention campaign to deter child sex tourists which includes a billboard near the airport and a leaflet distributed by customs officers.