General Reports

[Turgid]

... my contributions are negligible.

I applaud your honesty.

[Franciscass]

I'm guessing that means you are one of those 70 yr olds seen talking loudly on the skytrain walking around with a open shirt; beer belly exposed with a "I fcuk bargirls" tattoo, holding hands with a ladyboy explaining to her how much better they do it in the west compared to Thailand right?

I prefer to be discreet and make myself a small target. I am no "expert" like you, with opinions literally on every thread on this forum. But I think that perception is more important than fact in this situation. Regardless of how much I spend, I as a sex tourist will be seen as a unwanted pest by the majority of Thais, as such I don't broadcast that I'm a sex tourist. Further in fact I believe, and it seems (supported by some facts) that my contributions are negligible.

Actually MC not sure I'm with you on the "unwanted pest" description. For Thais paying for sex is not an unaccepted part of life, either by way of a visit to the local brothel or if you are able to afford her a Mia Noi. On top Thais are by nature nonjudgmental. That said I accept that there are a sufficient number of assholes who bring their loutish behavior with them with zero respect for their hosts quite often treating working girls as countryside illiterates only good for shagging for as little as they can get away with before sending them on their way. For me it's simple, be nice, show respect and Thais will welcome you with open arms.

[XXL]

"The Department of Land Transport has given the green light to legalise ride-hailing apps such as GrabCar and Bolt in Thailand. ".

Not a big deal in Bangkok since taxis there are dirt cheap but this is huge news for tourist towns like Pattaya and Phuket. No more 300-400 baht for a 7 minute 2 km taxi ride from Hollywood to LK Metro.

I will assume Uber hasn't buttered up the right people to get on the list. I expect some motorbike taxi shakedowns on people taking these ride share taxis.

I think Ueber withdrew from Thailand a couple of years ago over an agreement with Grab that Grab would be taking over.

With Bolt a ride from Central Festival to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya is now 60 baht. Used to be at least 200. Most cars accepting Bolt rides in Pattaya are now taxis (green & yellow).

Remains to be seen if the apps will be tolerated by the local mafia on some islands. Ko Tao comes to mind.

[Banana Boi]

"The Department of Land Transport has given the green light to legalise ride-hailing apps such as GrabCar and Bolt in Thailand. ".

Not a big deal in Bangkok since taxis there are dirt cheap but this is huge news for tourist towns like Pattaya and Phuket. No more 300-400 baht for a 7 minute 2 km taxi ride from Hollywood to LK Metro.

I will assume Uber hasn't buttered up the right people to get on the list. I expect some motorbike taxi shakedowns on people taking these ride share taxis.

[Banana Boi]

Spending too much time in Pattaya is misleading, you see very few female tourists.

The majority of guys on here only know Pattaya as the main baht bus route. Pre-COVID if you went to areas like Pratumnak Hill and Naklua-Wongamat you will see your fair share of female tourists, usually Russian. In fact, you will hardly see any single guys other than that small strip of bars near the Dolphin round. There is a small patch around Korea Town between the soapies and Terminal 21 that has a lot of female Korean and Japanese girls usually walking around in female only groups while their boyfriends are on Soi 6 during the day and Walking Street at night.

[Mr Enternational]

Spending too much time in Pattaya is misleading, you see very few female tourists. If you look at Samui, there is about a 50-50 mix of male-female tourists. Phuket also has a more balanced group of tourists, even Bangla Road has many female tourists.

Exactly. People get caught up and develop thinking that the small corner they hang out on is representative of the entire picture. I have said before that when I am on a flight from Philippines to Thailand I am usually the only single man that I see. Just look around when you are in the plane. It is not full of single guys. It is generally older married couples and young groups of couples or family and friends.

[HorseTrader]

The number of mongers visiting Walking Street, Cowboy, Nana, Bangla is tiny compared to the total number of tourists visiting the country often in tour groups from other Asian countries. Add in oilies soapies escorts, on line etc and I would hazard a guess that sex tourism adds at most 1% to 2 % to GDP but pre covid this still makes it a relatively significant 5 to 10 billion dollar business.

During my last entry into Thailand there was a huge line to get through border control and I snapped a picture of the mob. I just looked at that picture and estimated the group was 60% men and 40% women (I saw zero children in my picture). Probably a few men were business travelers. From that, I'm guessing more than 10% of travelers were unaccompanied men on vacation, who most likely selected Thailand for sex. If 20% of Thailand economy is tourism, my crude math says that about 2% of Thailand economy is based on sex tourism. Even though each sex tourist may spend only 20% of his vacation budget on sex, the destination was probably largely based on availability of sex.

Spending too much time in Pattaya is misleading, you see very few female tourists. If you look at Samui, there is about a 50-50 mix of male-female tourists. Phuket also has a more balanced group of tourists, even Bangla Road has many female tourists.

I forgot how the "left" and "right" was divided at border control, I think ASEAN citizens to the right and others to the left. The picture was taken on the left side so I couldn't estimate the male-female balance on the ASEAN side.

[MutantChicken]

So according to your logic sex tourists like you are somewhat useless to the countries that you visit.

I'm guessing that means you are one of those 70 yr olds seen talking loudly on the skytrain walking around with a open shirt; beer belly exposed with a "I fcuk bargirls" tattoo, holding hands with a ladyboy explaining to her how much better they do it in the west compared to Thailand right?

I prefer to be discreet and make myself a small target. I am no "expert" like you, with opinions literally on every thread on this forum. But I think that perception is more important than fact in this situation. Regardless of how much I spend, I as a sex tourist will be seen as a unwanted pest by the majority of Thais, as such I don't broadcast that I'm a sex tourist. Further in fact I believe, and it seems (supported by some facts) that my contributions are negligible.

[Turgid]

No you won't read that in any text books or anything based on empirical evidence, instead we should all take the word of the faceless resident expert on all matters who posts on a sex forum, without any actual facts. The issue isn't whether that mongers contribute, but whether it is as significant as they think it is.

I can name 2 Asian counties where western mongerers are very active Thai / Philippines and I can name 2 counties where mongers are very inactive. Thus by your logic the GDP growth rates in the first 2 counties should outstrip the latter?

Thai: 2.4% in 2019.

Philippines: 6%.

Indonesia 5%.

Vietnam: 7%.

So according to your logic sex tourists like you are somewhat useless to the countries that you visit.

[Franciscass]

As always it's relative to what one regards as significant.

Of course the sex industry contributes to the economy but in my opinion nowhere near as much as some members would have you believe. Because their life revolves around shagging and they live in mongering bubbles their understanding of the general economic activity of the country and specifically the tourism industry could understandably be somewhat limited.

Firstly the sex business needs to be broken down between local and tourist / expat demand and secondly tourism itself self needs to be broken down by those who come here for sex and those that don't.

The number of mongers visiting Walking Street, Cowboy, Nana, Bangla is tiny compared to the total number of tourists visiting the country often in tour groups from other Asian countries. Add in oilies soapies escorts, on line etc and I would hazard a guess that sex tourism adds at most 1% to 2 % to GDP but pre covid this still makes it a relatively significant 5 to 10 billion dollar business.

[Mr Enternational]

The issue isn't whether that mongers contribute, but whether it is as significant as they think it is.

Yep. Because since Covid those countries have pretty much been closed off to tourism/mongers and all the women and their families are now homeless and starving to death. I have yet to see a woman in one of these mongering countries that asked for money and died because I did not send it to her.

[MutantChicken]

Westerners including mongers contribute significantly to the Thai economy and that of those third world countries that they visit and live in. Countless millions of women worldwide are thus able to put food on the table of their families and nurture their children. You won't read that in any economics textbook.

No you won't read that in any text books or anything based on empirical evidence, instead we should all take the word of the faceless resident expert on all matters who posts on a sex forum, without any actual facts. The issue isn't whether that mongers contribute, but whether it is as significant as they think it is.

I can name 2 Asian counties where western mongerers are very active Thai / Philippines and I can name 2 counties where mongers are very inactive. Thus by your logic the GDP growth rates in the first 2 counties should outstrip the latter?

Thai: 2.4% in 2019.

Philippines: 6%.

Indonesia 5%.

Vietnam: 7%.

[Turgid]

We as westerners are indoctrinated to think we are all unique, special and have great value. I remember having a similar conversation with some sex tourists about China scene during the initial first yanda in Chang Ping. They kept saying how it wouldn't continue and that it will recover due to the activity contributing a good portion to the economy etc etc, well nearly 10 yrs later if anything commercial sex activities has gotten even more underground.

I predict as much of a proportion it contributes, it can be easily replaced with a source that doesn't bring as much stigma and national shame. It not only that westerners engage openly and publicly in a debauched manner, but their activities also bring western media who name and shames this activity, thus shining the spotlight. This plus, with the option of working online; will be the direction the international sex scene will be moving in. No more dens of debauchery, but discreet and private interludes between 2 consenting adults. Obviously the local scene will still operate as the powers that be won't want their fun interrupted, but foreigners will not be welcomed generally.

Westerners including mongers contribute significantly to the Thai economy and that of those third world countries that they visit and live in. Countless millions of women worldwide are thus able to put food on the table of their families and nurture their children. You won't read that in any economics textbook.

[MutantChicken]

I've read from various sources that tourism represents 15% to 20% of Thai economy. I'm curious what portion of the economy would be from ex-pats, assuming that ex-pat money is counted separately from tourism money.

Take the ladies away and a good portion of tourism and ex-pat money disappears from Thai economy.

We as westerners are indoctrinated to think we are all unique, special and have great value. I remember having a similar conversation with some sex tourists about China scene during the initial first yanda in Chang Ping. They kept saying how it wouldn't continue and that it will recover due to the activity contributing a good portion to the economy etc etc, well nearly 10 yrs later if anything commercial sex activities has gotten even more underground.

I predict as much of a proportion it contributes, it can be easily replaced with a source that doesn't bring as much stigma and national shame. It not only that westerners engage openly and publicly in a debauched manner, but their activities also bring western media who name and shames this activity, thus shining the spotlight. This plus, with the option of working online; will be the direction the international sex scene will be moving in. No more dens of debauchery, but discreet and private interludes between 2 consenting adults. Obviously the local scene will still operate as the powers that be won't want their fun interrupted, but foreigners will not be welcomed generally.

[HorseTrader]

Thailand also ranks among the top 10 in the Leisure Options subcategory (7th), with most ex-pats (82%) happy with their socializing and leisure activities (vs. 67% globally). Moreover, the country comes 7th out of 59 in the Personal Happiness subcategory, with 85% of ex-pats being happy with their life in general (vs. 75% globally).
I think the ladies play a big part in the aforementioned high rankings.

I've read from various sources that tourism represents 15% to 20% of Thai economy. I'm curious what portion of the economy would be from ex-pats, assuming that ex-pat money is counted separately from tourism money.

Take the ladies away and a good portion of tourism and ex-pat money disappears from Thai economy.