It's Economic Development
[QUOTE=Syzygies;2150539]
I do challenge you to put forward your own counter theory, as to what is the likely reason for closure, that fits all the information available to us, which I admit is definitely very limited. My theory was not totally my own supposition, but I never claimed to know anything for certain. Just propose what makes logical sense.[/QUOTE]I'm no political expert on Thailand, but applying some basic logic and it's easy enough to work out the reason for the decline. Economic development and progress is the major threat to the sex industry, not just in Thailand, but also in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
1. Thailand has 0% unemployment and there is a major shortage of labor. Wages are on the rise. The average gogo dancer makes about THB 25,000 a month and a good non-barfining coyote makes THB 30,000 + a month. Compare this to the salary of even a junior OL who makes about THB 70,000 and you can understand that girls don't need to be sex workers. There are better jobs around paying the same or more (even for someone without a college degree), so bars struggle to find girls.
2. Land values. Rising real estate values in BKK make it unaffordable for tenants (who operate bars and massage parlours) to keep paying steep rents. Owners are better off redeveloping their sites for other commercial / retail / residential purposes. I would think that in 10 years' time, the bars in Patpong, Nana and Cowboy would be in danger because the land is too valuable. Better yields are available for high-rise developments. The same goes for P. Burgos Street in the middle of Makati, Manila.
3. Thailand is keen to rid itself of its reputation for vice and as a destination for sex tourism. The sex industry catering for foreigners makes up a tiny portion of Thailand's economy, so if it were to be phased out, it would not impact on its GDP in any way. I'm speculating here, but some of the foreign aid which Thailand receives from left-leaning, do-gooder nations (like Sweden, Norway and Canada) might be conditional on the country showing progress in cleaning up the sex trade. There is an unfortunate misconception in the west that bar girls in Thailand are still forced to work against their will and [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord902][CodeWord902][/url] sex is common. There are powerful feminists groups in the west which would like to see their demise.