Thailand To Shed 'Sex Tourism' Tag Soon

[pepi2005]

Actually I regularly travel from China to Bangkok.

All the flights are fully booked, but not by western sexpats

yeah, by Chinese sex tourists!

[Beetlejuice]

Sex tourism --are you joking, you know how much a bonk is these days. Things have got out of hand and now its 3000 at least. A lady drink is an arm and a leg which is close on to 150baht for some red water.

Short time rooms are going bust too. I can barely afford a motorbike,--certainly not both like we did in the good ole days for ha loi.

I remember when 2000 a day did all three bike, bird, booze,bed.

Yes, good point.

The cost of social and adult entertainments in Thailand is no longer the bargain it used to be.

As a matter of fact prices can now be equalled to those of the United States, Europe and Australia or even more in some places.

The problem is that these industries have become greedy, very few good deals to be had and many Western tourists are now seeking their holidaying pleasures elsewhere.

We are now talking about a social night out costing in the region of thousands rather than hundreds. Wine, women and song can prove to be the most expensive commodity in Thailand.

I believe they killed the golden goose long ago.

[Bakseedaa]

The Shinawatra are clearly back in the driving seat

While the Generals allow it..!

[LordPoona]

you cant compare this to the vegas a few years back..

vegas is a hell hole in the middle of the dessert with not much to offer except vices..

Bangkok is much more robust diverse economy and should be seen as such by the world...

getting rid of greasy fat pervs is never a bad thing..

Edited August 20, 2011 by LordPoona

[elektrified]

They did the same thing in the Czech Republic when I lived there. A new mayor was elected in Prague and they completely cleaned up the city, got rid of all the prostitutes on the streets, closed many of the sex clubs and heavily promoted family tourism, culture, history, and so forth. The residents of Prague were getting sick of other Europeans coming over on weekends, drinking until they vomited all over the cobblestone streets, shouting and singing in the streets till all hours of the morning and so forth. The only prostitutes left raised their prices to discourage the cheapskates... They also installed cameras all over the tourist areas to catch drug dealers. Basically it worked. Prague's image was changed over a few month period of time.

I don't know if it will work here. Maybe...

[cdnmatt]

They want to attract more families into Thai tourism, so they threw a huge promotion in Goa? How does that make any sense? That's worst than throwing a family orientated presentation on Koh Phannagan (or whatever it's called -- the moon party island).

Goa??? It's a bunch of drugged up hippies who love to lay around on the beach during the day, and goto raves at night.

[Beetlejuice]

Sex tourism --are you joking, you know how much a bonk is these days. Things have got out of hand and now its 3000 at least. A lady drink is an arm and a leg which is close on to 150baht for some red water.

Short time rooms are going bust too. I can barely afford a motorbike,--certainly not both like we did in the good ole days for ha loi.

I remember when 2000 a day did all three bike, bird, booze,bed.

Anyone paying 3000 needs their head examined. It's not necessary to pay that kind of money.

Depends where you live or visit.

For example, in Chiang Mai, the only options are to go through the beerbar system, thats drinks, bar fine, room and so on, which can be an extremely expensive night out, or the rippoff soapy massage establishes, again expensive.

All the lady houses are gone as far as I know, so these days there are no cheap alternatives in Chiang Mai.

[Phatcharanan]

Goa??? It's a bunch of drugged up hippies who love to lay around on the beach during the day, and goto raves at night.

How much are the flights?

[rametindallas]

Here is a free tip for Thailand. In Las Vegas , Nevada, the city " leaders" decided they did not want the reputation for the city to be sin and gambling. They then tried to redo all publicity to push for family tourism. Revenues fell WAY off, they came to their senses, and the new promotion became" what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas". Thailand can certainly do whatever it wants, but if it kills off the sex trade just be sure to have regular jobs for all the girls from Issan...... This kind of government social engineering is made all the more funny by the fact that 80 to 90 percent of the sex trade is for the benefit of and used by Thai men. But I suppose that segment will not be going away.

On a side note, if they really do want family tourism, the government is going to have to do something about the endless scams. Those do not go well with families. Kids watching their dad get beaten up by jet ski thugs could have a detrimental effect on future families visiting......

+1 and they should order the BiB to remove the open sale of pornographic DVDs and sex toys from the area of upper Sukhumvit Road where lots of tourists stay and if they knew, wouldn't bring children.

some of my Thai friends tell me every neighborhood has a 'cathouse' but they are discreet. Only the foreign sex tourist needs blatant in-your-face signage to find a prostitute e.g soi Cowboy or NEP. I am a libertarian and neither approve nor disapprove but there are young sensibilities to be protected.

[Jingthing]

It'll take about 50 years for the Hollywood scriptwriters to get the message. The Thais can say anything they like. You can't change such an ingrained international image overnight. Oscar Wilde wrote some great books and plays, but what do you think he is MOST remembered for?

[ginjag]

JergenG # 157

Isn't it funny how you selected bits of my post to suit yourself, and give them a twist==

1... the Chinese remark was about the ones who come on holiday and who would not have an Issan G/F and take on her family ever==..............I happen to be aware of Chinese Thai from way back thanks.

2...Really this thread is about Thailand but refers to Pattaya, thats where the sex trade burst to life, and with the amount of farrangs that reside/holiday here I was not overestimating the importance here.

3... What the heck are you talking about numbers of farrangs in theThai government......crazy remark.

4..Its expected to have majority of Chinese Thai in the government as most of the top brass here are, they(10%) run the country.

5...You do understand that most of the bar girls and boys get latched on to farrangs, so my meaning of a lot of people would be worse off without us.

6..IQ --I DID say Thai not Chinese.

Do you think Pattaya would survive without the sex industry ??? maybe but 50% of it would be derelict

[toffo9]

I can just see the BIB thinking how do we get our T money now... Oh we will fine any baby not wearing a nappy or families with more than 1 beach towel

[kart4250]

Thailand going to shed sex tourism Image ?? i don't think so ( or don't even think about it not at least for few more years, i have planned so many trips in 2012 ),

Thailand Annual GDP stands at 8% for 2010, In that 3% GDP comes from so called Sex tourism, If the govt decides to shut down the fun shops it could cripple Thai annual GDP in a large scale,

Thai airways flight from MAA to BKK on 27 dec 2010 was packed, there were 190 odd single guys in the flight like me and 20 odd couples, and two lady boys, for an instance Thai govt implements the

rule, all Thai airways flight from India can fill only 20 odd seats, eventually Thai airways will have to cancel all the service to India and all over the world and go bankrupt in no time,

It would take some time for the Thai govt to come to terms that it cant shed tag now not at least for another decade.

[rametindallas]

:cheesy: :cheesy:

When are they going to tell the Thais about this so called idea?

One thing I have learned about Thais and Thailand is thatthey always talk about good things to shoe off and never act on them so this isone more thing for show

Oh yeah, one more thing, what does Thailand has to offer the family, Dream World??????

Si Am water park in Min Buri has Asia's largest wave pool. Other than those, Bangkok has nothing for families. I've heard Bangkok called Disneyland for adults.

[BigC]

Not in our lifetimes.

"We are trying to project Thailand as a family tourism destination. We are slowly changing the perception of Thailand to the rest of the world," Jarnson said.

this is bad very very bad. u take away our sowrded toursime then we will die. nooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HeavyDrinker]

They did the same thing in the Czech Republic when I lived there

Basically it worked. Prague's image was changed over a few month period of time.

Well it failed utterly.

It's still rammed with "stagging" weekenders and hookers.

You can even order online and in the papers these days.

It does sound a very Thai style of practising "Politics" though - all show, utterly no end result and a month later no-one gives a darn and everything's back to normal.

[ginjag]

Actually I regularly travel from China to Bangkok.

All the flights are fully booked, but not by western sexpats

yeah, by Chinese sex tourists!

Why are posters referring to farrangs as sex pats. I would guess that 50% that are on holiday are not sex fiends.

And I would think 50% of people who stay most of their time are not.

The biggest % of sex trade in Thailand is with the Thai's themselves, Dont just think of Nana ==Pattaya. The sex trade covers near ALL Thailand and most of that is where tourists are not around. It's been posted on TV Forum way in the past, that an estimated 10% of sex is from farrangs only. Think about it--just because you see it where you happen to be, it's the tip of the iceberg.

Maybe the Thai official IS aware of these facts, so is wanting to clean up the Thai part of the sex trade.

HE IS still crazy though, as he will put a few million out of work==yes thats the businesses as well as the sex workers.

[BigC]

:cheesy: :cheesy:

When are they going to tell the Thais about this so called idea?

One thing I have learned about Thais and Thailand is thatthey always talk about good things to shoe off and never act on them so this isone more thing for show

Oh yeah, one more thing, what does Thailand has to offer the family, Dream World??????

Si Am water park in Min Buri has Asia's largest wave pool. Other than those, Bangkok has nothing for families. I've heard Bangkok called Disneyland for adults.

i am going to gather a group of people and go outside parliment and say " u can take our sex otursime but u can never take ... Our freedome. " infact taking our sex torusime is taking our freedome.

This is serious. see what women in power do. it is like give a dog the sterring wheel and telling it to drive. Taksin get out !!!!!

[rametindallas]

A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report has pegged the number of female prostitutes in the country at 2 lakh.

can someone enlighten me? how much is 2 lakh.?

thaisabai

1 lakh is 100,000 so 2 lakh would be 200,000.

are they serious ?....... 2 million would be closer, between bkk and pattaya there must be 100,000 + alone , and thats a conservative number , thai culture seems to be similar to the infamous " casting couch", ..a favour for a fiver so to speak , sure there are many thai girls who wouldn't dream of doing sexual favours instead of paying a debt or to advance there careers,.. but i dont know any !.. i read recently that it was a thai tradition to give a "respected guest " the oldest daughter for the evening,... can anyone shed a little more light on this????????,..... very interesting

Back in my college days, my roomate and son of a Thai Army general, told me that if their guest was a single male, they would ask if the guest would prefer a girl or boy to sleep with them so they wouldn't have to sleep alone. The girl or boy would be one of the servants. At the time, I got the impression that this occured only in wealthy families. Over the years, I find that many servants are illegal Burmese who are kept a virtual slaves so I'm not surprised they can get staff to comply.

[digibum]

Here is a free tip for Thailand. In Las Vegas , Nevada, the city " leaders" decided they did not want the reputation for the city to be sin and gambling. They then tried to redo all publicity to push for family tourism. Revenues fell WAY off, they came to their senses, and the new promotion became" what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas". Thailand can certainly do whatever it wants, but if it kills off the sex trade just be sure to have regular jobs for all the girls from Issan...... This kind of government social engineering is made all the more funny by the fact that 80 to 90 percent of the sex trade is for the benefit of and used by Thai men. But I suppose that segment will not be going away.

On a side note, if they really do want family tourism, the government is going to have to do something about the endless scams. Those do not go well with families. Kids watching their dad get beaten up by jet ski thugs could have a detrimental effect on future families visiting......

Despite the economy giving LV a proper beating over the last several years, LV casinos are way, way more profitable as family tourism centers. Your average Las Vegas hotel/casino makes more money off of room rates, food, beverage, and entertainment than they do from gambling. It's also built up a huge convention business and nearly anytime you're in Vegas you're sure to be there during some huge convention.

That was not the case 30 years ago and does show that even Sin City can change if given the right incentive (i.e. increased profits). Macau has taken over as the #1 gambling town in the world but that is mostly because they still cater to the hard-core gambling junkies. When the revenues from gambling flatten look for them to start building more family-oriented entertainment.

The problem for Thailand is that making that change from being a city known for vices to one known as a family tourism destination requires investment. Las Vegas didn't just declare themselves family ready. Casinos invested hundreds of millions of dollars into building non-gambling entertainment. They cleaned things up. They moved the hooker off the strip. The local government stepped up patrols in tourist areas.

These are all things Thailand has not done and doesn't seem likely to do anytime in the near future. You can't even walk down Sukhumvit Road without spraining your ankle on some broken sidewalk tile. There are no plans to build any mega resorts or world class entertainment.

Furthermore, there's no real change in the Thai attitude. What's the biggest shows you can take someone to see in Bangkok? Ladyboy cabaret? Thai dancing? Go to Singapore and you can see world-class productions of The Lion King, Swan Lake, and Richard III. Thailand had the opportunity to change its image a long time ago with us farangs. Thailand could have went upscale but upscale means farang standards which is something that Thailand has resisted in the past and still resists today.

For instance, TAT is desperately trying to lure Indians to Thailand. Of course, there are many businesses in Thailand that will straight out refuse Indian customers. Instead of massive campaigns by TAT and other government agencies to change the Thai attitude towards Indians they just sort of expect the Indians to put up with being treated like dirt.

The problem with Thai tourism and any sort of effort to shake the sex tourism reputation is that Thailand itself will need to change. As long as Thailand refuses to provide a reason for families or more upscale tourists to visit those people will continue to go to Hong Kong, Singapore, Maldives, Bali, etc.

[moe666]

Sex tourism --are you joking, you know how much a bonk is these days. Things have got out of hand and now its 3000 at least. A lady drink is an arm and a leg which is close on to 150baht for some red water.

Short time rooms are going bust too. I can barely afford a motorbike,--certainly not both like we did in the good ole days for ha loi.

I remember when 2000 a day did all three bike, bird, booze,bed.

Yes, good point.

The cost of social and adult entertainments in Thailand is no longer the bargain it used to be.

As a matter of fact prices can now be equalled to those of the United States, Europe and Australia or even more in some places.

The problem is that these industries have become greedy, very few good deals to be had and many Western tourists are now seeking their holidaying pleasures elsewhere.

We are now talking about a social night out costing in the region of thousands rather than hundreds. Wine, women and song can prove to be the most expensive commodity in Thailand.

I believe they killed the golden goose long ago.

hehehe funny man I have a Thai friend now working in Zurich, it cost her 1 million baht for visa, plane ticket and other incidentals they charge 4,000baht for 15 min. and 10,000baht for 30 min. she works about 4 hours 6 days a week has Sunday off. Escort services in the US typically cost 200 to 400 dollars for 1 hour. At these rates it does appear Thailand is still a bargain

At a semi upscale bar here in the states you will pay in the neghibor hood of 10 dollars for a mixed drink with no option to chat to woman unless one decides she can lower herself to do so.

Edited August 20, 2011 by moe666

[pacosvillage]

Men from all over the world come her for Thai girls and some for boys, and many for golf. Take the girls out of the equation and what will be the result?

Uhm. I dunno. Busy boys and packed golf courses?

More like packed boys and busy golf courses . This article and the prospects is a joke. Tourists will make of Thailand what they want out of it or keep thier dollars and go to Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam if they want to be allowed the freedom of drink and pretty ladies.

[rubl]

It'll take about 50 years for the Hollywood scriptwriters to get the message. The Thais can say anything they like. You can't change such an ingrained international image overnight. Oscar Wilde wrote some great books and plays, but what do you think he is MOST remembered for?

His epigrams in The Picture of Dorian Gray ?

[HeavyDrinker]

Why are posters referring to farrangs as sex pats.

Excellent point!

It is a ludicrous term mainly (over) used by blokes who came here for the women themselves, got married and can no longer go to the bars.

I recently went on a night out with a trade delegation from Japan.

The hosts on the night out were a well known Japanese Multi-National Corp.

After the formal side had been got out of the way and the stuffed shirts photographed shaking hands with the various dignitaries, we then moved on to a more "adult" venue and no-one batted an eyelid at some of the raucous antics which went on.

Frankly it was far worse than anything I have ever witnessed in the Western "adult" nightlife areas.

Would some of the moral-highgrounders label these Japanese businessmen as "sexpats" too?

[digibum]

Actually I regularly travel from China to Bangkok.

All the flights are fully booked, but not by western sexpats

yeah, by Chinese sex tourists!

Why are posters referring to farrangs as sex pats. I would guess that 50% that are on holiday are not sex fiends.

And I would think 50% of people who stay most of their time are not.

The biggest % of sex trade in Thailand is with the Thai's themselves, Dont just think of Nana ==Pattaya. The sex trade covers near ALL Thailand and most of that is where tourists are not around. It's been posted on TV Forum way in the past, that an estimated 10% of sex is from farrangs only. Think about it--just because you see it where you happen to be, it's the tip of the iceberg.

Maybe the Thai official IS aware of these facts, so is wanting to clean up the Thai part of the sex trade.

HE IS still crazy though, as he will put a few million out of work==yes thats the businesses as well as the sex workers.

A lot of what you're saying makes no sense. Why does Thailand has a sex tourism reputation because of Thai on Thai prostitution? You do realize that the other 90% of Thai on Thai prostitution would not be classified as tourism, don't you?

They didn't say they were trying to end prostitution in Thailand. They said they were trying to change the perception that Thailand is a sex tourism destination.

[spectrumisgreen]

Not in our lifetimes.

Try to stop sex tourism! Give me a break. Men from all over the world come her for Thai girls and some for boys, and many for golf. Take the girls out of the equation and what will be the result?

For a family beach holiday there are many places to go.

Mad as balloons these lot!!! Not that Thailand isn't or can't be a family place, but what it already is can't be changed and if they did then they'd lose too many punters!! Bit like giving a woman with huge great plastic norks a nice pretty, unrevealing dress.. she's still got huge great plastic norks for f***'s sake!!!

[spectrumisgreen]

Not in our lifetimes.

Try to stop sex tourism! Give me a break. Men from all over the world come her for Thai girls and some for boys, and many for golf. Take the girls out of the equation and what will be the result?

For a family beach holiday there are many places to go.

Mad as balloons these lot!!! Not that Thailand isn't or can't be a family place, but what it already is can't be changed and if they did then they'd lose too many punters!! Bit like giving a woman with huge great plastic norks a nice pretty, unrevealing dress.. she's still got huge great plastic norks for f***'s sake!!!

[pacosvillage]

Here is a free tip for Thailand. In Las Vegas , Nevada, the city " leaders" decided they did not want the reputation for the city to be sin and gambling. They then tried to redo all publicity to push for family tourism. Revenues fell WAY off, they came to their senses, and the new promotion became" what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas". Thailand can certainly do whatever it wants, but if it kills off the sex trade just be sure to have regular jobs for all the girls from Issan...... This kind of government social engineering is made all the more funny by the fact that 80 to 90 percent of the sex trade is for the benefit of and used by Thai men. But I suppose that segment will not be going away.

On a side note, if they really do want family tourism, the government is going to have to do something about the endless scams. Those do not go well with families. Kids watching their dad get beaten up by jet ski thugs could have a detrimental effect on future families visiting......

Despite the economy giving LV a proper beating over the last several years, LV casinos are way, way more profitable as family tourism centers. Your average Las Vegas hotel/casino makes more money off of room rates, food, beverage, and entertainment than they do from gambling. It's also built up a huge convention business and nearly anytime you're in Vegas you're sure to be there during some huge convention.

That was not the case 30 years ago and does show that even Sin City can change if given the right incentive (i.e. increased profits). Macau has taken over as the #1 gambling town in the world but that is mostly because they still cater to the hard-core gambling junkies. When the revenues from gambling flatten look for them to start building more family-oriented entertainment.

The problem for Thailand is that making that change from being a city known for vices to one known as a family tourism destination requires investment. Las Vegas didn't just declare themselves family ready. Casinos invested hundreds of millions of dollars into building non-gambling entertainment. They cleaned things up. They moved the hooker off the strip. The local government stepped up patrols in tourist areas.

These are all things Thailand has not done and doesn't seem likely to do anytime in the near future. You can't even walk down Sukhumvit Road without spraining your ankle on some broken sidewalk tile. There are no plans to build any mega resorts or world class entertainment.

Furthermore, there's no real change in the Thai attitude. What's the biggest shows you can take someone to see in Bangkok? Ladyboy cabaret? Thai dancing? Go to Singapore and you can see world-class productions of The Lion King, Swan Lake, and Richard III. Thailand had the opportunity to change its image a long time ago with us farangs. Thailand could have went upscale but upscale means farang standards which is something that Thailand has resisted in the past and still resists today.

For instance, TAT is desperately trying to lure Indians to Thailand. Of course, there are many businesses in Thailand that will straight out refuse Indian customers. Instead of massive campaigns by TAT and other government agencies to change the Thai attitude towards Indians they just sort of expect the Indians to put up with being treated like dirt.

The problem with Thai tourism and any sort of effort to shake the sex tourism reputation is that Thailand itself will need to change. As long as Thailand refuses to provide a reason for families or more upscale tourists to visit those people will continue to go to Hong Kong, Singapore, Maldives, Bali, etc.

You can put a dress and perfume on a pig but it is still a pig. Thailand doesn't show respect for foriegners , only takes their money, is and politically backward- not to mention unstable, so recent from killing in the streets you would try to have me feel my children would enjoy and be safe, I don't think so.. I';ve seen how hotels in Phuket have become Family-friendly in their ads, but still let katoy and hookers hang in their lobbies day and night for a percentage. What amount of PR can change that?

[rubl]

Why are posters referring to farrangs as sex pats.

Excellent point!

It is a ludicrous term mainly (over) used by blokes who came here for the women themselves, got married and can no longer go to the bars.

I recently went on a night out with a trade delegation from Japan.

The hosts on the night out were a well known Japanese Multi-National Corp.

After the formal side had been got out of the way and the stuffed shirts photographed shaking hands with the various dignitaries, we then moved on to a more "adult" venue and no-one batted an eyelid at some of the raucous antics which went on.

Frankly it was far worse than anything I have ever witnessed in the Western "adult" nightlife areas.

Would some of the moral-highgrounders label these Japanese businessmen as "sexpats" too?

Of course not, for Japanese it's part of their culture

[Lancelot]

This kind of government social engineering is made all the more funny by the fact that 80 to 90 percent of the sex trade is for the benefit of and used by Thai men. But I suppose that segment will not be going away.

Yep the overwhelming part of the "Business" caters to the locals. Down deep, I think the Thais tolerate the trade- as long as its discrete. Most foreigners aren't very discerning when it comes to the "business"