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Plymouth Church, noted for its 19th century anti-slavery stand and the abolition work of its first pastor, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, will sponsor a free education and action event on the issue of human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today it is signing the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code). The Code, an industry driven tourism initiative, is supported by UNICEF and The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

On July 27th, at GBTA Convention 2015, the GBTA Foundation announced it is joining the fight to stop child exploitation by working with ECPAT, the leading anti-trafficking policy organization fighting sex tourism.

Sex trafficking victims - including children - are often bought and sold in hotel rooms and exploited in prostitution, ranging from budget properties to luxury resorts. Service providers and law enforcement agencies report that nearly all victims they come in contact with have been exploited in hotels. A trafficker may run their business out of a hotel room, putting employees in a unique position to identify victims and alert authorities. From checkin to checkout there are a number of indicators victims and traffickers exhibit during the time they are on a hotel property.

Choice Hotels International joins ECPAT-USA's mission to end child slavery at the source and take further measures to prevent and protect children from human trafficking by joining the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code). The Code is the industry-driven tourism initiative in preventing child trafficking. They signed The Code on April 29th 2015.

The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) has officially joined ECPAT's efforts to end child exploitation and human trafficking. The association's International Board of Directors formally signed the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code) during SITE Nite Europe, 18 May 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany. The Code is an internationally accepted set of voluntary guidelines that travel and tourism companies can implement to prevent child exploitation and human trafficking.

Milligan Events actively pledged to fight against human trafficking by signing The Code this week with ECPAT-USA at an industry-related seminar hosted by Meeting Professionals International's (MPI) Washington State Chapter in Bellevue, WA.

ECPAT-USA will be joining the Kansas City Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (KCMPI) to train hotel industry executives and industry associates about the role of hospitality professionals in combating human trafficking. Attendees will gain insight into important resources available for travel buyers and suppliers to fight the trafficking in the United States, which is estimated to exploit upwards of 100,000 children per year.

ECPAT-USA and Altruvistas are proud to launch a new travel initiative, this time focused on Mexico. In May 2015, ECPAT-USA (Ending Child Slavery at the Source) will be leading a groundbreaking journey to Mexico entitled, Behind the CODE: An ECPAT Advocacy Journey, in which a group of tourists have the opportunity to learn about the issue of trafficking and sexual exploitation and how to combat it. The Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code) is a responsible business initiative with a mission to provide awareness, tools and training to the travel industry, focused on the issue of trafficking. Members of The Code include Delta, Hilton Worldwide, Carlson Companies, Wyndham, and Orbitz.

As Super Bowl week commences, ECPAT-USA, a leading anti-trafficking organization, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the sole national trade association representing all segments of the nation's hotel industry, today urged members of the travel and entertainment industry, as well as other local businesses and law enforcement, to increase their level of vigilance with respect to human trafficking.