Pattaya: A sex tourism paradise with 27,000 prostitutes and 1 million customers a year

Thailand is now one of the most popular sex tourism destinations in the world. In terms of the scale and fame of the sex industry, Thailand is not inferior to Germany, Brazil, Spain and other countries. According to a 2016 statistic, the transaction volume of Thailand's sex industry reached 6.4 billion US dollars. The contribution of the sex industry to the Thai economy is more than that. It is estimated that the value of Thailand's sex industry has reached 200 billion pounds, which has become an important pillar of the Thai economy.



What is even more surprising is that this is based on Thailand's refusal to recognize the legal status of the sex industry. As early as 1996, Thailand officially legislated to ban the sex industry. However, the specific implementation has been disappointing. Today, Thailand is full of red-light districts, and the number of sex workers has reached about 250,000. Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and other famous tourist destinations all have red-light districts, and Pattaya is known as the world's sex industry capital.

Pattaya is a tourist paradise in Thailand, with the reputation of "Oriental Hawaii". The beaches here are sunny, blue and green, and are a great place for swimming and surfing. It attracts more than 12 million tourists every year. However, in the 1970s, Pattaya was still an unknown fishing village. All the changes began with the US military stationed there.



During the Vietnam War, the United States began to station troops in Pattaya. These wealthy American soldiers had a huge demand for sex workers, which directly led to the development of Pattaya's sex industry from scratch. American soldiers were not only regular customers of various sex venues in Pattaya, but also directly invested in and bought shares in brothels. As Thailand realized the value of Pattaya tourism and invested heavily in development, the sex industry here ushered in rapid development until it developed into a city that never sleeps with a very exciting nightlife today.

It is difficult for people who have not been to Pattaya to imagine that this tourist city with a population of only 800,000 has 27,000 prostitutes. Pattaya in the daytime follows the rules and is as quiet and peaceful as other ordinary tourist destinations. However, at night, it is another world, with bright lights and wine, and the gorgeous lights of thousands of bars and other sex venues in the city render it into a magnificent entertainment capital.



Pattaya is small, so it is not difficult to find the red light district, which extends outward from Pattaya's vibrant pedestrian street. Every night, every bar here is filled with loud music, tourists are crowded on the street, and sex workers in gorgeous clothes stand on the street, while others stand at the door of the open-air bar to attract interested customers.

In Pattaya's red light district, tourists who are traveling for sex can find all kinds of entertainment. The custom places here provide a variety of performances and services. Of course, there are also Thai characteristics: transgender performances. The customers in the red light district are mainly Europeans. They are the largest group here besides sex workers. They can be seen bargaining with sex workers everywhere on the street.



Pattaya's custom industry attracts 1 million customers every year. Some foreigners choose to settle here in order to enjoy the life of luxury here for a long time. However, in recent years, Pattaya's prosperity has been challenged. Due to Thailand's increased control over the custom industry, many Western tourists have begun to leave here and consume in other Southeast Asian countries. Because of the development of Thailand's economy and the reduction of the poverty population, there are fewer sources of sex workers here. However, it is hard to say when Pattaya will be able to truly attract customers from all over the world with its beautiful scenery alone.