“Thai government refuses to acknowledge the red light economy”
OPINION
Thanks to WB for sending us this response to earlier article. The views expressed by WB do not represent The Thaiger, its management or staff.
Prostitution is not illegal in Thailand, although many activities associated with it are (brothels, pimping, causing a public nuisance, etc.). Nevertheless, it was estimated to be worth US$6.4 billion a year in revenue (2015), accounting for a significant portion of the national GDP – Wikipedia.
Thailand faces a grim choice. It can have tourism with widespread Covid or it can stay closed up, but it can’t have tourism without Covid … there is no middle ground. All the data available from other countries shows this to be the case.
Its second dilemma is that Thailand has traditional multi generational households (generally 3 generations) and if Covid gets into the broader community it will pose a massive threat as it will be impossible to isolate the elderly/vulnerable, from the younger generations that will predominantly remain asymptomatic and spread the virus unknowingly.
The third dilemma is the Government’s refusal to look at the real facts about its GDP and economy. The “tourism” industry is not about how many farang pass through an airport, it’s about how much money is spent in the wider community and where it’s spent.
They may choose to look strictly at the formal sector and survey the 5 star hotels to make their assumption of a 15-19% GDP number, but in reality there is a massive informal tourist economy that effects tens of millions of Thai people and businesses.
This is not the t-shirt seller, this is flow on economy from the million or more bar ladies.
They all purchase food from the street venders, get their clothes laundered, rent rooms, pay bills, and send the bulk of their income home to support an extended family, not to memtion all the “boyfriends” remitences from overseas. In the great fight to save face the government has refused to acknowledge their existence and include them in any type of covid financial aid, and that doesn’t just effect the lady but her whole extended family.
The ripple effect from this is being felt far and wide. One room is now occupied by 4 ladies and 3 rooms are vacant. The payments on motorbike loans are not paid. Mama-noodles are the economic choice and the BBQ cart is struggling, as is the chicken farmer, and the chicken feed producers. The real estate financial problems are coming as these same ladies are no longer able to service their bank debts for land and house building.
The Catch 22 is unfathomable, the reality is hard to face and it is a guaranteed loser at the next election regardless of the choice made, but delaying the choice is not going to work for long either.
The only thing that is certain is that the Phucket quaratine bubble will not work in its proposed form due to the characteristics of this virus. You either need to isolate each and every guest from the other guests for 14 days or you will have an outbreak. The minute you have an outbreak the staff will try to flee due to the superstition and fear that has been built up (needlessly) about the virus. Those fleeing staff will spread it as they go and the whole 6 month quarantine/lockdowns/restrictions will have been for naught, and then they will start again destroying what is left of the economy.
I do not envy the choices to come, but the true science needs to be used or thousands will die needlessly, my family may even be among those numbers.
Perhaps the “ministers” should get some plain clothes and go hang out at the bars in Pattaya (and other places), buy the ladies some drinks and ask questions, they will be only to happy to fill you in on what is really going on below the shiny surface that is the hi-so hotel bars of Bangkok. Heck, im happy to introduce you and get the conversation started if you like.
WB
NOTES:
In July 2016, it was reported that the Thai government intended to abolish the sex industry. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, the tourism minister, said… “Tourists don’t come to Thailand for sex. They come here for our beautiful culture” and that “We want Thailand to be about quality tourism. We want the sex industry gone”. Kobkarn was replaced as tourism and sports minister in November 2017
In 2015 Havocscope, a database providing information about the global black market, gave an approximate figure of about 250,000 for the number of prostitutes working in Thailand. In 2015, UNAIDS in estimated the total population of sex workers in Thailand to be 147,000. Another UN report, prepared by NGOs, estimates the number of prostitutes in Pattaya at around 30,000.
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