Ethical questions related to globalization, human rights, unfair labor practices and trans-boundary exchanges of capital and work force create ever more complex challenges for the tourism sustainability agenda. In recent years, the tourism industry is increasingly called on by media and governments to provide socially responsible and quick responses to emerging problems resulting from the dissolution of borders and workforce migration. Two particularly challenging phenomena which regularly make headlines are trafficking in human beings and child sex tourism.

The main objective of the paper is to discuss existing good practices for preventing and combating trafficking of human beings and its links with the travel industry, and child sex tourism. Secondly, the paper pleads for the morphing of such experiences into sustained innovation and public policies, and reviews several factors that may come into play in order for this transformation to begin. The discussion is framed within the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for sustainable tourism.