In the Mekong sub-region, child sexual exploitation is linked to the growing tourism industry, which draws a large number of travelers each year, including child sex offenders. UNODC tackled this serious issue through this project, which led to reforms in laws on child protection in the project beneficiary countries, including changes in the penal codes and codes of criminal procedure. The project also helped the countries to develop their own capacity-building initiatives, including ad hoc training courses for officials to disseminate knowledge acquired from the project training sessions.

Lecturers at judicial training institutions who took part in a training-of-trainers programme are now applying that knowledge in their classes. Those achievements led the three beneficiary countries to adopt, at the third regional legal research group meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia, held on 7 and 8 September 2017, a declaration to address the regional problem of child sexual exploitation in travel and tourism. The declaration is intended to pave the way for the promotion of the initiative among other member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.