The Multi-Billion Dollar Sex Tourism Industry In South East Asia

In an effort to escape normalcy and the dull amenities of their everyday lives, every day hordes of tired and overstressed workers pack their bags, hop on a plane and set off to various destinations around the world, ultimately fueling the yearly trillion dollar industry of what is global tourism. In fact, in 2012 an estimated one billion people worldwide took part in transglobal travels, marking it the largest tourism year to date.(UNTWO, 2012) With an industry that accounts for one in every twelve jobs and 30% of all global earnings, it is no surprise that countries are willing to do whatever is necessary in order to grab a piece of the pie, so to speak. Typically, countries with lower financial infrastructures tend to erase nobility and take the most extremes, specifically through the means of prostitution, in order to appeal to the growing and more lucrative side of the industry.

Though many global destinations have adopted such a manner, Southeast Asia has become the prominent leader in these exploitations. Furthermore, countries in this region, not only intentionally depict their women as exotic and sexually unrestrained figures, but also turn a blind eye to the immorality and humility of what has become a billion dollar sex tourism and prostitution industry. In recent years, sex tourism has become a major topic of interest for many writers and has been greatly popularized in many published works. In order to truly understand the dominance of such an aberrant industry we must not only discover the primal roots of this business, but also explore how nations have invested in the stereotype of the “sexual eastern playground” and finally survey the specific destinations where sex tourism has gained greatest affluence.

Over a period of around 50 years the lust for the exotic-type Asian woman had been reconfirmed through new eastern conflicts such as the Korean war and the Vietnam war. During the time of the Korean war it was estimated that the sex trade was valued at around a staggering 16 billion U.S dollars ,adjusted for current day inflation.(Dujisin,2007) These reinvented babysan during the war and in the years that followed, recaptured the eroticism of American men, who once again salivated at the service they had to offer. Furthermore, like the trend that followed after the occupation of Japan by American forces, some soldiers brought home some of these women as brides. Later in the 60s and 70s amidst the Vietnam War, the same phenomenon reoccurred with the newly coined “boom boom girls” who would frequently visit establishments where American G.Is would go.(Bauer, Mckertcher, 172) At this point the ideas of the eastern women as a prostitute had relapsed and spread to multiple generations that it might as well could have been a good old American tradition.

Ultimately at this point in time is where the stereotype seems to have stopped evolving and I say this because even now in current day society, the foreign Asian woman is seen as obedient, passive and still a sexual object. I say foreign purposely because due to immigration to the US I think my generation has developed a huge distinction between an assimilated Asian American and a foreign Asian alien. These ideas can be transparent throughout both types, however they are primarily aimed towards those who are viewed as foreigners. Ultimately with a better understanding of the history behind these stereotypes of the Asian women, we can better understand and analyze the argument as to how it is intentionally used for profit today.

Everyday while watching television , reading a magazine, or even just walking to work, American men are bombarded by tourism ads featuring “exotic” destinations like Thailand or the Philippines. These ads contain sexually provocative images of native women smiling or with captions like “Experience Thailand” implying a sexual haven of women lining up just for the chance at intercourse with a foreign man. The picture on the left is part of a 2008 attempt at highlighting some of the things Thailand has to offer. At first you see two women, but If you look closer you a short man, as if the picture is saying no matter what you look like or how tall you are, you can get two beautiful women in Thailand.

These women who cater to these men are willing to sell their bodies, act like an obedient woman and ultimately stomach their true feelings just because it offers a way of survival for them. The majority of these sex workers are women however there are a large portion of male sex workers who are usually sought after by homosexual men rather than women , however it does happen occasionally. However by far the worst part of the sex industry The cold hard fact is that sex sells, and these women are more than willing to fake a few smiles and mentally turn themselves off for a while in order to make a decent living, but make no mistake they have zero emotional connections with you. There is a common misconception about the sex work industry, and that is the majority of these women would not be there if better opportunities were offered to them.(Venkatesh,2012)

A large percentage of these women who join the sex trade out of free will come from small farm villages lacking any type of opportunity and most of the time don't even tell their parents what they are doing. They are willing to dress in overly revealing outfits, dance on hostess bar's tables, flirt with men and ultimately prepare themselves to fulfill a customers desires. The allure of decent wages and the possibility of marrying a foreign man is what keeps these women in the sex trade usually until they are no longer desired, which at that point many of these women open up hostess bars of their own or pursue other work. Below is an image of a hostess bar in Thailand which on any average weekend night will contain about 30-40 girls who essentially are prostitutes. If you look closely you can see that the bar is filled with about 10-12 Caucasian men men who look at least ages 35 and up, which is the exact scene you would be able to view any day of the week. As long as there are tourists seeking sexual satisfaction , there will always be a support of poor and impoverished women willing to supply the service.

These bars are usually run by an overseer called Mama San, who will sit at the back of bar, counting bills or expressing a persona similar to that of a pimp . As you enter the bar, you are free to walk around talk to the girls, and ultimately if you find one you like; you can negotiate with Mama San the price to spend a night with the girl. However, for the girls it is much more complicated , usually the hostess bars will pay the girls employed a base salary, however the girls must make a quota of men they go home with and a quota of drinks they have men buy them. If at any point a girl can't meet these quotas, they can be instantly dropped by the bar, not to mention if they don’t go home with many men, they are unable to earn the salary that attracted them to the profession in the first place. Due to the pure competitive nature of the business many girls often fight , become territorial and sometimes actually attempt to get the other girl fired. The salaries may be high for what these girls would be earning elsewhere, but the mental and emotional stress levels are high and they could lose the job at any moment.

However, the tourism industry understands these businesses extremely well and rather than cracking down on a blatantly illegal industry they embrace it. This is very prevalent in red light districts of these countries, where a large amount of police are stationed, not to prevent prostitution , but rather to protect it. Often these police officers earn reputations for dealing in shady business practices like accepting bribes by certain bars to avoid hassle or simply preying on unknowing foreigners who are willing to bribe the officers to walk away. In a country where genuine opportunities are far and few in between, even those who are supposed to protect the law chose not to. Even positions in the government refuse to even acknowledge the sex tourism and prostitution industries because of the financial success it has proved to be. South eastern Asian country's recent economic booms are built off the back breakingly brutal and self destructive prostitution industries and yet everyone turns a blind eye to the problem.

Everyone involved sees a miracle, the government sees economic growth the tourist get the erotic fantasies he came for. Everyone except one person, the prostitutes, the ones who do the degrading and hard work for little reward. In fact the average price for prostitutes around the world is around one US dollars.(Prostitution Procon.org)
So where are some of these destinations that thrive in the sex tourism industry? The sad truth is that all over the world sex tourism takes place, in fact it really depends on what specific group the tourist is interested in having an erotic experience with. Prostitution is the oldest profession and most likely will always be a profession due to the raw primal nature of the experience. Sex tourism can be found from the window girls of Amsterdam, to the escorts of Las Vegas and all the way to south East Asia. However, because I want to focus on south east Asian,the two major and most popular sex tourist destinations in the area are Thailand and the Philippines.

First Thailand,which is a relatively poor country compared to western standards, however manages to compete in the tourism industry because of its beautiful beaches and most likely, beautiful women. In fact tourism in Thailand is its biggest foreign export with rice at a close second. The darker side of Thailand lies in its capital of Bangkok in the red light district of Pattaya. A disgusting amount go-go bars, brothels and more importantly prostitutes are all crammed into an area that in actuality only makes up a few city blocks. On any given night thousands of prostitutes and mainly male tourists roam the streets in awe of the bright lights and seemingly endless supply of women. For men, Pattaya is a glittery sexual paradise, and greater than they could have ever imagined. Just so you get an idea of how many men are attracted to this “heaven on earth”, Thailand brings in about 20 million tourists a year and it is estimated that 70% of all single men who come to Thailand will be involved in some type of prostitution during their stay.(TAT,2012) Also in the early 2000s there were sex tourism tours of Thailand where single men would sign up and experience all the different brothels and women Thailand had to offer. Currently the problem in Thailand is so massive that there are an estimated 300,000 sex workers is Bangkok alone and close to 2.8 million spread among Thailand.(US State Department,2008)
The situation in Thailand continues to rapidly grow and will most likely continue to grow if the government and police authorities turn a blind eye to an ever more evolving problem.

The Philippines' sex tourism and prostitution industry are very Thailand primarily in how they operate, but there are many differences that make The Philippines a special case. Much like how the go-go bars in Bangkok, Manilla has a a red light district called Makati which at first glance isn’t as outright glamorous and glitzy as Pattaya, but take a quick look around and you will see an astonishing amount of girls either dressed in traditional garb or a low cut skirt and a revealing top.(Jlu, 2012) There are still the shady bars that act like pimps and some police officers that take bribes, however the huge difference between the two countries, is the Philippines' government is fighting back against these practices. In 2011, U.S ambassador to the Philippines, Harry Thomas jr. was quoted saying that 40% of all male tourists to the Philippines are there for sex tourism. He advocated stopping those who come for sex tourism rather than the prostitutes themselves and talked about the problems the industry causes.(Philstar,2011) The fact is in the Philippines the U.S government puts heavy pressure on them to regulate and carry out the arrests and detainment of trafficking and prostitution criminals. The tourism secretary for the Philippines has also been quoted saying “Our message to all tourists is simple: you are welcome to the Philippines anytime for good, clean fun and excitement. If you are coming for darker reasons, we don’t want your business,”.(Philstar,2011) This is a huge step because it not only reveals intentions to oust the industry, but it also shows intent to keep a watchful eye on the tourists who come to the Philippines specifically for sex.

In conclusion you can see where the stereotypes of the “sexual east”, and the love for the “exotic woman” have come from and ultimately its effects on the current day global market. The fact is that the tourism is a powerful machine, one that won't ever stop, but quite the opposite, one that will grow everyday. However, the financial incentive the industry offers is not a justification to prostitute and exploit your own people. This sex tourism phenomenon is fueled by the advertisements and marketing by the tourism industry and will continue to spiral out of control in a viscous circle for a long time to come. These countries will need to evaluate themselves and figure out whether to legalize prostitution or to expel it , because if those in control continue to deny it, nothing will be solved. his will not happen overnight and I urge anyone who has a fantasy of sex tourism to reevaluate and think hard and well about the deeper effects they are causing in these countries.