Bedsonline backs action against child labour

Company to donate €1 for each booking made on platform to Australian non-profit organisation Continue reading →

Trade bedbank Bedsonline is backing the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) World Day Against Child Labour on June 12.

The company pledged to donate €1 for each booking made through its platform to A21, an Australian non-profit organisation that aims to abolish slavery, to support its Thailand Child Advocacy Centre.

The campaign, which will be launched globally aims to support the more than 168 million children that the US Labour Department estimates are in forced labor worldwide.

The Bedsonline initiative is aligned to the company’s commitment to protect against the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the travel and tourism industry.

Alistair Rodger, director of retail travel agents at parent company Hotelbeds Group, said: “We are very proud to join the World Day Against Child Labour as part of our commitment to stop the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

“We encourage all the travel agents out there that use our platform to make as many bookings as possible on Tuesday 12 June using just our Bedsonline platform only – for every single booking, be it a hotel or a transfer or activity, we’ll give €1 to A21 to help them stop the hideous practice of the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

“We recognie that the tourism industry has the legal and moral obligation to ensure that the protection of children and adolescents is included in its development agenda. That is why we wanted to launch a global campaign to both raise money and raise awareness with travel agents about this global problem.

“We chose to focus the funds raised on Thailand for two main reasons. On the one hand, A21’s Thailand Child Advocacy Centre is 100% dedicated to children in the region; on the other hand, Thailand is our fourth most booked destination globally and therefore our commitment to the country is strong.”

Kayla Henry, A21 global supporter engagement manager, said: “We are grateful for Bedsonline having chosen to support the fight against human trafficking on this significant day.

“There are more slaves on the earth today than ever before and millions of children are being affected by human trafficking every day.

“We believe that it is not up to any specific group to combat slavery, but that when we all come together and play our part, we can see change take place – and it is fantastic to see companies such as Bedsonline rising up to that challenge, making a direct contribution that will help protect children in Thailand.”