Every country has its unique aspects and natural resources
Every country has its unique aspects and natural resources that attract tourists to see, get entertained and create a memorable human experience. In the process, income is generated, increase job opportunities, and international cohesion. There are natural tourist attractions such as wildlife, climate, and historical sites. Also, there are human-made attraction centers like infrastructure, sport among others. Thailand is one of the Asian countries that are rich in culture attracting a large number of tourists in the country. However, readily available sexual satisfaction in some towns like Pattaya and Bangkok has been a vital reason many tourists visit the country. This paper is going to explain factors that have contributed and the effects affiliated with sex tourism in Thailand.
Factors Influencing Sex Tourism in Thailand
Thailand is well known with her beautiful topography. With the variety of hills and mountains, many visitors opt to enjoy the spectacular views during their vacations (Hays, 2014). The country is also rich with a warm climate that attracts many people escaping the winter seasons, especially from Western countries. As a result, the increase in sex-opinionated tourists visiting the country increases in sex work and prostitution in the country (McDowall and Choi, 2010: 36). The proximity of Thailand to Vietnam makes her ideal for visitors to tour the two nations that are so rich in tourist attractions.
There are many unemployed people in Thailand due to the economic level of the country leading to many girls having no choice but to work in bars and other entertainment areas (Hays, 2014). In most case, the wages they receive are not enough and are therefore forced by circumstances to engage in the sex trade as a side job. Social acceptance of tourism sex is another contributing factor which has increased the number of people who work as professional sex workers since there is no stigmatization or condemnation (George and Panko, 2011: 134). Research indicates that even married women engage in sex tourism to cater for their families due to high living standards and lack of enough jobs.
Sex as bait for employment is frequent due to competition and available fewer jobs. Many women engage in sex with employers as an exchange for work. During the slavery era, women we brought to Thailand as sex slaves. Although there was slave trade abolishment in 1905, the business remained legal 55 years later (Hays, 2014). Some constitution Acts were implemented to protect sex workers thus augmenting the trade. Additionally, the Thai law concerning prostitution is less strict allowing sex work in tourism to flourish every day. According to Kelly (2015), corrupt police collaborate with parties controlling the industry, thus protecting owners and women involved in keeping sex tourism alive in Thailand.
The social construct that women need to be submissive has influenced sex tourism in Thailand. According to Buddhism, women are supposed to obedient and submissive. This cultural and religious belief plays a significant role in the subjugation of Thai women for sexual pleasure by tourists (Mason, 2015: 149). A survey conducted in Thailand revealed that most of the married women consider sex in prostitution as a business and it has no emotional attachment, thus cannot affect their marriages (Ocha, 2012). Due to this belief, they also allow their men to engage in sex with prostitutes.
Impacts of Sex Tourism in Thailand
As tourists flock for sex, Thailand receives income that boosts her economic development. Tourists get to use facilities such as hotels and other services besides enjoying cheap sex services thus generating revenue (Ocha and Earth, 2013: 195). Sex tourism provides a variety of jobs to the locals. Apart from sex workers, many sectors such as shops, hotels need people to look after them giving Thai people working places improving their living standards. Presence of millions of tourists from different parts of the world helps in the exchange of ideas, cultures and even language enhancing cultural diversity and understanding promoting peace and harmony among the people (Mason, 2015: 149). Thai people can cope with different cultures due to a variety of tourists they receive yearly.
On the other hand, Thailand experiences a high number of people living with HIV/AIDS across the countries due to the availability of cheap sex services that are affordable to the low, middle and high-class clients (George and Panko, 2011: 134). A good number of tourists engage in unprotected sex leading to exchange and spreading of diseases across the country. Sex tourism-related activities like drug trafficking, sex predation, and child trafficking are on the rise in Thailand (George and Panko, 2011: 135). Since there is a large number of sex workers, it can be hectic for authorities to control and make sure that legal sex work is carried out. The rise of criminal activities takes the course leaving many citizens in fear of being victimized (Howard, 2009: 359). Sex tourism is also not available all the time since tourism has high and low seasons leaving many workers idle when few tourists are coming into the country. There is a high chance of workers engaging in criminal activities for upkeep as they wait for the peak season.
Recommendations
The government of Thailand should introduce strict laws and policies to curtail the trend of sex tourism. The primary contributor for sex workers are lenient laws that tend to support and provide security for the parties involved. However, there is a high chance of partially getting rid of sex tourism. It will be a better option if the government introduces awareness to the people to always stay protected whenever they are involved in the business. The government should take part in trying to balance the economy throughout Thailand. A creation of job opportunities in rural areas should be one of the significant steps to be put in place as many would not move to urban areas seeking for employment, but rather stay balanced across the country due to available opportunities wherever they are living. In return, sex tourism will reduce as Thai people get opportunities surrounding them.
Conclusion
Sex tourism has been part of Thailand's attraction aspect for a long time. The government receives a considerable amount of income from the business. However, many other tourism centers can attract many people to Thailand than sex work that keeps on painting a bad picture of the country. Ironically, Thailand is a Buddhist country that is supposed to uphold social values than seeing her women being used as sex objects by millions of visitors every year. The nation can develop from the right source of income rather than building herself from what is considered evil. Although the change may take time, it is the government's responsibility to make sure that social norms and values are followed. An introduction of protective measures is required to curb the spreading of sexually transmitted infections to those involved in the industry. However, this should be temporary as there is the need to create a conducive environment for the upcoming generations.
References
George, B.P. and Panko, T.R., 2011. Child sex tourism: Facilitating conditions, legal remedies, and other interventions. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 6(2), pp.134-143.
Hays, J. (2014). Prostitutes In Thailand: Their Lives, Motivations, Scams, And Customers | Facts, and Details. [online] Factsanddetails.com. Available at: http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Thailand/sub5_8d/entry-3246.html [Accessed 9 Oct. 2018].
Howard, R.W., 2009. Risky business? Asking tourists what hazards they actually encountered in Thailand. Tourism Management, 30(3), pp.359-365.
Kelley, K., 2015. Patriarchy, Empire, and Ping Pong Show: The Political Economy of Sex Tourism in Thailand.
Mason, P., 2015. Tourism impacts, planning, and management. Routledge.
McDowall, S. and Choi, Y., 2010. A comparative analysis of Thailand residents' perception of tourism's impacts. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality " Tourism, 11(1), pp.36-55.
Ocha, W. and Earth, B., 2013. Identity diversification among transgender sex workers in Thailand’s sex tourism industry. Sexualities, 16(1-2), pp.195-216.
Ocha, W., 2012. Transsexual emergence: Gender variant identities in Thailand. Culture, Health, and Sexuality. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2012.672653.
