SEX TOURISM

Sex Tourism

Sex tourism is the travelling or tourism with the intention of taking advantage of any local laws on sex that are poorly enforced (Dictionary, 2013). In addition, sex tourism can also be defined as as the travel undertaken mainly by men from developed countries and usually moving to the third world countries with an intention of taking part in sexual activities that are often extreme or forbidden in nature (Travel Industry Dictionary, 2012).Another definition of sex tourism is the act of travelling to other countries with an intention of spending money to have sex with prostitutes or children (Cambridge, 2013).

Tourism is among the largest industries in the world with the sector having economic, political, and cultural influence in many countries that act as tourism destinations. It is therefore paramount to understand the impact of sex tourism in the global and local economy. Sex tourism is a main tourist attraction in many countries where it is done explicitly, like in Thailand and Amsterdam, or in Asian and African countries where it is more covert (Anan & Ian, 2008). Generally, sex and tourism are somehow linked since many people prefer having sex when they are on holiday. As such many tourists expect to have more sex when they are on vacation. Although research shows sex tourism is rampant in many tourist destinations, there are few people who admit that sex is a main component of holiday making.

Admittedly, some researchers argue that sex tourism despite being a deviant behavior, is a main motivation for tourists.  This presents a main challenge to the governments and other non-governmental organisations that are willing to limit sex tourism without interfering with the tourism industry in general (Prideaux et al., 2004). Tourists especially from Europe and America, have emotional and psychological needs that they expect to be fulfilled as they travel to exotic tourist destinations. Some of these needs include exploration of the unknown and exciting their fantasies. In this regard, many tourists arrive to their destination with some desire to participate in sexual activities with the local population without necessarily having a plane to encounter sex workers.

Many travel agencies and tour operators in the developed countries are aware of such desires. As a result, they use photographs of men and women who are scantily dressed to market exotic tourist destinations such as Kenya, Brazil, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, India, and Thailand among others (Amalia, 2008). In addition, there is a general assumption from the tourists that these men and women are available to them as part of the holiday package.

Another element of the tourists’ expectations is the desire to engage in risky activities that are also exciting. These include, getting a man, woman, or even children for sex from other nationalities and cultures especially in the unknown destinations (Nara, 2008). This expectation for sexual activity and the desire to indulge in risky behaviour than would happen in their home countries implies that tourists are ready to seek sexual services from children or other sex workers, without using condoms.

Sex tourism is very common In the Dominican Republic where sex workers are offered as part of the tourists’ vacation package. Due to this, brothels discos and bars are quite popular with the tourists visiting this country. In some cases, sex workers are employed in exclusive tourist resorts where such opportunities are also advertised on the radio (Amalia, 2004). The sex workers prefer foreign tourist because they treat and pay them better than the local tourists.

The tourism industry is the main economic development strategy in Cuba and Dominican Republic. Due to the lack of viable employment and the dependence in foreign exchange, many men and women migrate to the tourist hot spots in order to earn a living (Sanchez, 2006). Having sex with tourists is one way in which people take part in as a source of earning. However, sex tourism is not just about money and sex, but there are other opportunities that arise when the locals have sexual relationships with tourists. Some of the social impacts of sex tourism include intermarriages, school dropouts, drug abuse, and HIV/AIDS.

Many children who engage in sex tourism are forced by circumstances to drop out of school in order to concentrate on the trade. The reason why they have to drop out of schools is because most of them have to travel long distances to get to tourist destinations since sex tourism is mainly concentrated in specific areas. For instance, in Kenya children and other sex worker travel to the Kenyan Coast that is famous with tourists from various parts of the world (Aramberri, 2010). Some of the children become beach boys where they avail themselves to the tourists for sexual exploitation. This is also the case in other countries such as India and Thailand where the level of illiteracy is quite high among the sex workers who entertain tourists with sexual activities (Maurer, 2008).

Marriage is another social impact of sex tourism. This mainly happens with return tourists who end up having strong romantic relationships with their sexual partners. As a result, some of them formalise their relationships by declaring marriage.  Most marriages are however between tourists and adult sex workers. It is for this reason there are many interracial marriages in Europe, America, and in Australia (Ryan, 2008). Although most of the marriages that occur because of sex tourism do not last, there are still some of them that last for many years depending on the level of trusts between the partners. At times, colourful marriage ceremonies are held to welcome couples to the local communities.

Human trafficking is closely associated with sex tourism with children and women being lured into these by their relatives or others. They are mainly promised with jobs in the cities or pursuit of education. Human trafficking can be from the rural areas to the urban areas within a given country or it can involve moving from one country to another and especially to the popular tourist destinations (Herold, 2001). In most cases, the sex recruits from Africa and other regions are transported to Germany and other parts of the UK using fake documents such as short-stay visas or tourist visas.

As people seek to use sex tourism as a source of income for their families, sometimes they leave their marriages to join the sex trade. This mainly happens after women realize that their husbands are not supportive enough because they cannot afford the amount of money given to their women by the tourists (Nara, 2008). Again, being away from their families for too long has serious effects to their marriages that can lead to separation or divorces.

One of the most common social effects of sex tourism is the spread of the HIV/AIDs to the unsuspecting women and children. According to a study done in most of the regions where sex tourism is common, more than 40% of the tourists engaged in sexual activities with the locals, do not use condoms or any form of protection (Aramberri, 2010). As such, the cases of HIV/AIDS and other venereal diseases have been on the increase as popularity of sex tourism increases. The main reason for this is the fact that most tourists practicing sex tourism are wealthy making them have more authority in deciding whether to use condoms or not. Equally, their targets have little say due to their poverty that makes them desperate for money. In fact, sex workers and children continue with their sexual interactions with tourist even after realizing they are HIV positive and hence contributing to the rampant spread of the disease. There are some misplaced beliefs that make HIV positive tourists want to have sex with children (Oppermann, 1999). This is the belief that having sex with virgins or infants reverses the HIV positive status to negative. This leads to the high demand for the sex with children with the hope that HIV carriers will cure their infection. Instead, this contributes to the continued spread of HIV and other STIs to the children and other sex workers. Other regions that have reported HIV cases that are related to sex tourism include Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Jamaica.

Sex tourism and tourism contributes to the economic development of the given regions through the foreign income from the tourists. At individual level women, and children who engaged in sex tourism benefit from the revenue they get from the tourists. This is especially the case where sex tourism is informal since people are allowed to negotiate with their clients on the amount of money to charge for the services (Maurer, 2008). With this in mind, some people charge a lot of money which they invest in other business. In most African states for instance, there are no clear regulations on sex tourism and hence allowing tourists to negotiate directly with the sex workers without engaging middlemen or brokers. Actually, the tourists engaging in sexual activities with children, console themselves that they are helping the implicated women and children to escape from economic hardship.

Apart from the direct economic benefit to the people engaging in sex tourism, sometimes they also use the money received from these activities to support their immediate families although most of them do not disclose the source of their income leaving their families to perceive it is from genuine sources. This has been quite helpful in the payment of school fees and other family needs (Aramberri, 2010).  In some unique cases, the commercial sex workers are included in the wills of their elderly clients, a situation that leads to a complete economic transformation for such sex workers.

An analysis of the sex tourism in Kenya shows that as much as tourism brings revenue to the areas where it is rampant, sometimes it drains resources from the host communities. The estimation is that more than two thirds of the tourist revenue remain with the foreign-owned tour companies and airlines (Kibicho, 2005). Additionally, food and other commodities are mostly imported to the Kenyan Coast from other parts of the country.  Due to this, only small amounts of revenues from the tourist get back to the local communities. In some instances, the local people are employed in the sex tourism resorts but mainly on low paying jobs. In addition, the local communities bear the negative social and environmental consequences of sex tourism.

In the recent years, the revenue that used to trickle back to the local communities in the hot spots of sex tourism has been reduced in the Kenyan Coast. This is mainly due to the all-inclusive packages that are offered by the hotels and tour operators (Aramberri, 2010). Therefore, the tourists are not expected to spend any extra money while at their destination. It is for this reason that little of the tourist dollars reaches to the grass roots.  It has also been evident that in the areas where sex tourism is rampant, inflation is experienced during the high season. This is due to the circulation of the foreign money from the tourists as they pay the sex workers for the services provided.

One of the cultural impacts of sex tourism is that it leads to the preservation of heritage sites that normally attract tourists. As tourists visit various tourist destinations, their main purpose is to encounter exotic places that are attractive and fun to stay. Sex is only considered after reaching such destinations. For instance, sex tourism in Thailand has contributed to the conservation of buildings and sites with heritage values in order to attract more tourists to that country.  In particular, the demand for sex tourism in Thailand has led to the preservation of the Lumbini cultural site which is the birthplace of Buddha.

Sexual tourism has also been associated with cultural interference in the communities found in tourist destinations. For instance, in Kenya, the culture of the people living in some tourist destination towns such as Malindi are highly influenced by the foreign culture to an extent of abandoning their own traditional cultures. In the case of Malindi, Italian tourists have dominated the region for many years to an extent of influencing the locals to adopt the Italian culture (Kibicho, 2005). Indeed, the Italian language has become the common language used by the locals where they mix it with the local Swahili languages.

In most African and Asian cultures sex is treated as a taboo subject where people take part in sexual activities in private. In addition, women and men have to wear revealing dresses in order to lure the tourists into sex. This is indeed against some cultural beliefs that treat women’s bodies as private and that should never be displayed in public. In fact, sex tourism has lead to the introduction of homosexuality which is not a common practice in most African cultures. As a result, some gay marriages have even been experienced in Jamaica, Thailand, and in Kenya, all courtesy of sex tourism.

As sex tourism increases, there is political impact in the destination countries. One of these includes the need for the governments to enhance the security and safety measures in order to boost the tourism industry. Mainly, this is done to protect the overall image of a country as a tourist destination as a way of attracting future tourists (Ryan, 2008). Safety for sex tourists is almost guaranteed in the countries such as Thailand where sex tourism is done more openly since it is a main income earner for the government. To some extent, governments establish special police forces to ensure the safety of tourists like it is the case in Kenya.

In the countries where sex tourism is legitimate, governments collect taxes from sex tourism businesses. This revenue is then pumped back into government’s operations and may therefore contribute to the delivery of services to the people and hence creating a positive relationship between the government and its citizens (Nara, 2008). In addition, a stable political environment contributes in promoting tourism in general.

Governments in the tourist destinations play a major role in the formulation of polices required in the tourism industry. Being a main foreign income earner for many countries, governments are mandated to ensure a smooth learning for the tourism industry.  When there is an increase in the sex tourism, the government may have to formulate policies that will address the negative impacts of such trade to the local community. For instance, it is the role of a government to ensure that the HIV pandemic does not affect its citizens. It is also critical for the government to ensure that sex workers receive civic education on how to practice protected sex. In relation to this, many governments are responsible for distributing free condoms to the tourist destinations (Sanchez, 2006). This however happens in the countries where sex tourism is legitimate. In an event that sex tourism is not allowed, governments have to play the role of ensuring enough crackdowns on the vice. If sex tourism involves children, it is the role of the government to enact appropriate laws that are clear to protect child exploitation through sex.

Sex tourism has been on the increase over the years with many countries embracing this concept. This practice has been associated with the economic benefits in the destination areas where tourists engage in sexual escapade with the locals. Many of the sex workers who engage in sex tourism do so due to poverty, unemployment or lack of alternative source of income. However, there are others who join the sex trade after being duped through human trafficking. Some of the economic benefits of sex tourism include improvement of infrastructure, source of employment for the locals, using the revenue to support their families or paying school fees, and increased revenue collection by the governments from the tourism businesses. Cultural and social impacts of sex tourism include intermarriages, drug abuse, preservation of heritage values, divorces, family separation, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is also critical to note that the growth of sex tourism encourages governments to develop strong policies for addressing the child exploitation and other vices such as human trafficking. In general, sex tourism impacts on the social, cultural, political and economic environments but it is the governments’ responsibility to prevent their citizens from the negative effects by educating sex workers on the risks associated with unprotected sex.

List of References

Amalia, C. (2004). Between Love and Money: Sex, Tourism, and Citizenship in Cuba and the      Dominican Republic. Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 29 (4): 987-1015.

Amalia, C. (2008). Tropical Blues: Tourism and Social Exclusion in the Dominican Republic.        The Latin American Perspectives, 35 (3), 21-36.

Anan, W. & Ian, C. (2008). Is Tourism-based development good for the poor? Journal of Policy   Modeling, 30 (6), 929-955.

Aramberri, J. (2010). Sex Tourism in Africa: Kenya’s Booming Industry. Annals of Tourism          Research, 37 (4), 1201-1203.

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Dictionary. (2013). The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from      http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sex+tourism on 20^th April, 2013.

Herold, E. (2001). Female Tourists and Beach Boys Romance or Sex Tourism? Annals of Tourism Research, 28 (4), 978-997.

Kibicho, W. (2005). Tourism and the Sex Trade in Kenya’s Coastal Region. Journal of      Sustainable Tourism,   13 (3), 256-280.

Maurer, B. (2008). Tourism’s Intimate Economies. New West Indian Guide, 80 (2), 97-103.

Nara, H. (2008). Perceived Social impacts of Tourism by Residents in the OTOP Tourism             Village, Thailand. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 13 (2), 175-191.

Oppermann, M. (1999). Sex tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 26 (2), 251-266.

Prideaux, B., Jerome, A., Jon, Donlon. & Curran, C. (2004). Exotic or Erotic-contrasting images   of defining destinations. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 9 (1), 5-17.

Ryan, B. (2008). The tele-technics of agency, the Net, the urban and sex tourism. Social    Identities, 14 (3), 349-361.

Sanchez, T. (2006). Female Sex Tourism: A Contradiction in Terms? Feminist Review, 83 (83),     42-59.

Travel Industry Dictionary. (2012). Define Sex Tourism. Retrieved from http://www.travel-          industry-dictionary.com/sex-tourism.html on 20th April, 2013.

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