Three global agencies have joined forces to launch an anti-trafficking campaign, to tackle the trafficking of humans, wildlife and fauna, cultural artefacts, illicit drugs and counterfeit goods.
(World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO))
"Trafficking is one of the most pressing issues of the 21stCentury," Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the UNWTO, said speaking at the ITB in Berlin, Germany, where the campaign was presented to an international audience.
According to Rifai, one in seven people travelled internationally in 2012. That is equal to over one billion people crossing a border to enter a foreign country in a single year. The tourism industry's infrastructure supports this massive movement of people – with countless airports, ports and other points of connection making travel possible.
"Unfortunately, the infrastructure we helped create is also being used for trafficking," Rifai said.
UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, explained that trafficking is on the rise.
"As we speak, cultural artefacts are being looted in conflict regions," Bokova said, naming Syria as an example. Every year, cultural goods with an estimated value of $7 billion are illegally trafficked around the world. In some African countries, 95% of their cultural heritage has been robbed by trafficking.
"Trafficking damages societies in the long-term," Bokova said. "Our message is simple: travel, but don't traffic."
A problem identified by Bokova, Rifai and their colleague UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, is that tourists are frequently unaware that their activities are illegal. Buying a small artefact as memorabilia or picking up a few pieces at an archaeological site can seem harmless, as can buying a single counterfeit item, to the unwitting traveller.
"Transnational organised crime is a huge and global problem bringing criminals billions of dollars in profit," Fedotov said. With more people travelling than ever before, their choices can have a huge impact, he argued. "That is why the campaign we are launching aims to open people's eyes to organised crime."
With regard to human trafficking, Fedotov said that currently there are no reliable figures on the size and scope of the crime, also because of a lack of reporting. Many people who witness human trafficking or sexual exploitation do not recognise it as an organised crime. "So there is very little whistle-blowing and very few convictions." He stressed that if progress was to be made in the fight against human trafficking, tourists "must become more vigilant."
Rifai added that ideally, the successful dissemination of the campaign would lead to every single traveller becoming an anti-trafficking campaign "ambassador".
"Trafficking is killing the very capital the tourist industry is based on," Rifai said in closing. "This campaign is not just about being good for the sake of being good, but about benefitting the business side of the industry as well."
Pascal Lamy (Chair of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics), Kathleen Mathews (Executive VP & Chief Global Communications & Public Affairs Officer of Marriott International) and Alex Alt (President of Sabre Hospitality Solutions) were also present at the ITB to show their support for the campaign.
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Louise Osborne is a correspondent and editor based in Berlin, Germany. She began her career working at regional newspapers in the UK and now works with journalists across the globe as part of international journalism organization, Associated Reporters Abroad (ARA). Living abroad for the second time, she continues to be fascinated by places both near and far, and boards a plane eagerly, as often as she can.
Besides the ITB Berlin 2014 live coverage, Louise also writes a weekly exclusive column for 4Hoteliers.com 
