It is determined that the scale of crime in the tourism sector is extremely difficult to assess due to the lack of official statistics on certain types of criminal offenses committed in this industry. A significant number of criminal offenses, including human trafficking under the guise of tourism activities, remain latent. It has been proven that human trafficking is a criminal offense that knows no borders. Since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this problem has become much more complex. For offenders involved in such transactions, Ukraine is one of the main sources of “living goods” entering the “black markets” of Europe and Asia, or is often a transit territory. It is determined that recent studies prove that in the sphere of tourism, human trafficking is still usually associated with sexual exploitation of a person or with their use in the porn business. Offenders involved in human trafficking (mainly women and children) sometimes hide under the signs of travel agencies. At the same time, such travel agencies search for women, recruit them, usually for prostitution abroad, and also organize their departure. The author agrees with the opinion of researchers on the problem, who note that there are many more «volunteers» among sex workers, including those who go abroad through travel agencies, than victims of direct violence. Recruitment of women for use in the sex business is often carried out precisely through travel agencies. At the same time, in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, there are practically no sentences under Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, where representatives of domestic travel agencies appear, and, as a rule, they appear only as witnesses. However, from time to time, the media reports on the participation of travel agencies in human trafficking. It is noted that offenders use hotels and other accommodation facilities to sexually exploit minors because they feel anonymous and unpunished there. Behind the closed doors of a hotel room, child abuse can take many forms: sexual abuse, prostitution, pornography, or child trafficking. The author draws attention to the fact that it is very difficult to investigate human trafficking committed in this area (this primarily concerns the investigation of human trafficking committed with the participation of foreign accomplices). Among the main difficulties are the lack of intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the field of combating human trafficking between Ukraine and the countries of the Middle East, Latin America, etc., as well as the high cost of traveling abroad to conduct investigative actions there. Studies confirm the fact that sometimes the investigation cannot even establish the names of pimps and other persons involved on the side receiving the «living commodity. This leads to the fact that foreign accomplices in human trafficking avoid criminal liability. After some time, unpunished businessmen look for new partners in Ukraine to conduct illegal business.
І. А. Нестерова (Sun,) studied this question.