There are moments when silence from an industry becomes impossible to ignore.

Amid all the conversations around power, exploitation and abuse linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case, I’ve been struck not just by what is being discussed publicly, but by what isn’t.

For those of us who work in travel and tourism, in particular, we cannot pretend that this conversation sits outside our world.

So much of the lifestyle of Epstein and the elite he surrounded himself with played out – for decades – across the travel industry, in private jets, hotel rooms and hot tubs, at airports and on private islands.

We are an industry that moves people across borders, operates in destinations where economic inequality is a lived reality and relies on transport, accommodation, intermediaries and labour, often in places where women and young girls are most vulnerable.

'We can, and must, do better'

Sometimes, harm happens knowingly, but far more often it happens because no one asks those difficult questions, no one challenges accepted norms or feels able to speak up.

Epstein's crimes were allowed to take place, in part, due to an industry that failed to recognise or hold to account the activity that was under its nose.

When we talk about exploitation, we need to be precise with our language. “Under-age women” are not women; they are girls, they are children, and as an industry that prides itself on connection, culture and care, we have a responsibility to ensure we are not complicit, directly or indirectly, in systems that place them at risk.

This is not about pointing fingers at individuals, nor is it about guilt by association. It is about looking honestly at structures, incentives and behaviours and asking why certain dynamics persist, why speaking out can feel risky and why those with power are not always the first to use it to protect others.

Travel and tourism can, and must, do better.

We can strengthen safeguarding and whistleblowing mechanisms to empower each other to come forward. We can improve pay, conditions and progression for those in entry-level roles, particularly in destinations where people feel trapped rather than employed.

We must stop rewarding silence, compliance or submissiveness while starting to value integrity, courage and accountability instead. It also means recognising inclusion is not just about who gets a seat at the table, but about who is protected, valued and believed when something goes wrong.

If travel is truly about enriching lives, then that must include the lives of those who make it possible, especially the most vulnerable. Silence should never be the price of belonging in this industry, and this moment calls for responsibility, courage and action rather than apathy.

And if we stay silent now, we should be honest about what that silence protects.

Alessandra LoTufo Alonso is the founder and managing director of Women in Travel CIC.