Responsible Souvenir Shopping

Two things can go wrong with a souvenir, and one of them is a criminal matter. The first is that the object does nobody any good: mass-produced, imported, sold by a reseller. The second is that it is protected, stolen or illegal to export, in which case customs will seize it and may do considerably more than that. Both are avoidable by asking two questions before you buy.

What You Need to Know

Wildlife products

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES, is a global treaty regulating international trade in wild animals and plants, and it works through a system of permits. As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts it, a permit is required to import or export a CITES-listed species, whether a live specimen, a part, a product or a pet. That covers a great many things sold openly to visitors: ivory, tortoiseshell, many corals, reptile and cat skins, some shells, some hardwoods and some traditional medicines.

Two consequences. Being sold something legally in the country you bought it does not make it legal to take home. And "I did not know" is not a defense that customs officers are able to accept. Of the 211 destinations the State Department publishes country information for, 15 mention wildlife products of this kind in their local laws.

Antiquities and cultural property

The UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted in Paris on 14 November 1970 and in force since 24 April 1972, is the framework here. Its Article 3 is short: import, export or transfer of ownership of cultural property carried out contrary to the provisions adopted under the Convention by States Parties is illicit.

In practice, that means an object that looks old is a problem unless a seller can produce an export certificate, and 29 of those 211 destinations restrict the export of antiquities or cultural property in their local laws. Fossils, coins, carvings, manuscript fragments, religious objects and architectural pieces all fall in this category. Assume you cannot take it and let a documented certificate change your mind.

The other question: does it do any good?

Ask who made the object, where, and whether the seller knows. A cooperative or a workshop will tell you and is usually pleased to. A stall selling identical items to every stall beside it, imported in bulk, will not. Buying from the maker or from a cooperative is the version of this that supports someone.

What to Do Before Your Trip

• Read the local laws section for export restrictions.
• Decide in advance that you will not buy wildlife products.
• Find the cooperatives and workshops for the crafts you want.
• Learn what your own customs prohibits on return.
• Plan to keep receipts and any certificate.

Important Considerations

Sellers are not always the authority on legality, and some will say confidently that an item is fine. That is sometimes ignorance and sometimes not, and either way the consequence lands on you at a border. Where an item might be a protected species or an antiquity, the burden of proof is yours and the document is what discharges it.

Be careful of the argument that buying an item saves it or takes it somewhere it will be appreciated. That reasoning has emptied a great many places of their own heritage, and it is precisely what the 1970 Convention exists to stop.

Food, seeds, plants and animal products also face agricultural rules on the way home that have nothing to do with heritage or endangerment. Check before you buy something perishable as a gift.

Tips for Group Travelers

• Brief the two rules before the first shopping stop.
• Name the specific risks for the destination: ivory, coral, antiquities.
• Take the group to a cooperative rather than to a souvenir strip.
• Tell people to keep receipts.
• Ask your guide what is genuinely local and what is imported.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming legal to buy means legal to take home.
• Buying anything made from an animal without checking.
• Buying something that looks old with no certificate.
• Discarding the receipt.
• Believing a seller’s assurance over a customs rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

What souvenirs are illegal to bring home?

Anything made from a CITES-listed species without a permit, which covers ivory, tortoiseshell, many corals, reptile and cat skins and some hardwoods; and antiquities or cultural property exported contrary to the country’s law. Being sold it openly abroad does not make it legal to import, and customs enforces the rule rather than the intention.

Can I buy something that looks antique?

Assume not, unless the seller produces an export certificate issued by the relevant authority. 29 of the 211 destinations the State Department covers restrict exporting antiquities or cultural property, and the UNESCO 1970 Convention makes export contrary to those rules illicit. Fossils, coins, carvings and religious objects are all in scope.

How do I know a craft is genuinely local?

Ask who made it and where, and see whether anyone can answer. Workshops and cooperatives will tell you and usually enjoy the question; a stall selling the same items as every stall beside it will not. That question also happens to be the one that decides whether your money reaches a maker.

What if I already bought something questionable?

Declare it on arrival rather than concealing it. Customs treats an undeclared prohibited item very differently from a declared one, and the outcome for a declared item is usually seizure rather than anything worse. Keep the receipt and any documentation you were given.

Related Travel Tips

• Culture, customs and responsible travel, the section this guide belongs to.
• Supporting Local Businesses.
• Customs and Immigration Basics. The declaration on the way home.
• Heritage Travel Etiquette.

Plan Your Trip With LABUSA Travel

Which crafts are genuinely local, which cooperatives are worth visiting and what cannot leave the country are questions with specific answers per destination. LABUSA Travel answers them before the market rather than at the airport.

Talk with a LABUSA Travel advisor about a trip you are considering, or browse our destination guides for a specific country.

Verify Before You Travel

CITES permit requirements are administered in the United States by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Cultural property rules derive from national law and the UNESCO 1970 Convention. Per-destination export restrictions are published by the U.S. Department of State, with independent guidance from the U.K. FCDO.