The potential for romance, or at least sex, abroad is an exciting prospect. Yet for most travellers, although there is always the chance of finding “love” overseas, nothing is ever guaranteed.
However, these days a growing subgroup of travellers are beginning to take control of their sexual fate abroad, and choosing to visit foreign lands specifically to satiate their sexual desires.
Enter the sex tourist.
In an age where there is growing access to international travel both at home (e.g., the Internet; email enquiries and phone enquiries) and in the traditional retail environment, consumers have many options in how, and with whom, they book their travels.
What’s more, the rising popularity of budget airlines is making international travel more affordable than it has even been before.
Physical distance is no longer the factor it once was when considering a holiday abroad. Distance is these days converted into hours spent on a plane, which can then be passed with the latest advances in in-flight entertainment. International tourism is flourishing indeed.
And its flourishing is expected to continue with the introduction of more and more middle-class Chinese and Indian travellers into the global international tourism market.
International tourism is a multi-million dollar industry that supports thousands of local workers – and their families – in countries all around the world. Sex tourism – under this general umbrella – is likewise an important and thriving tourism sector.
It is as much a part of this industry as the traditional spheres of tourism which focus on the cultural, historical and environmental features of the destination; for most people, it is these features of a foreign land that attract them into the prospect of travelling.
(Some destinations, e.g., in Brazil, are also building their very own sex-themed amusement parks – a kind of Disneyland meets Sexpo experience.)
However, for some individuals, the allure of a thriving sex tourism sector abroad in a particular destination is enough to motivate them into visiting these foreign lands.
Travel agents are financially dependent on the voluntary movement of people all around the world. In sum, they are dependent on tourists to earn their living. As sex tourists themselves exist as a sub-group of the wider tourist cohort, Travel Agents are also dependent on these kinds of tourists to survive financially. Inevitably, Travel Agents are approached by these tourists for the purposes of booking their travels abroad.
However, what happens when a Travel Agent morally disagrees with the purpose of one of their customer’s travel requests? For example, what happens when a Travel Agent – who regards sex tourism as a form of exploitation – is requested to book travel for a would-be sex tourist?
Unfortunately it would seem that economic realities inevitably pressure the Travel Agent into disregarding his or her moral outrage at sex tourism, and ultimately succumb to the requests of the client-as-sex tourist. This is one of those uncomfortable dilemmas faced by Travel Agents today whilst performing their duties at work.
The Travel Agent is at the mercy of the sex tourist. Whether or not the Travel Agents performs well in his or her monthly commission quota is dependent on the influx of this type of tourist – some to a large degree, most to a small degree.
Indeed, both the Travel Agent and the sex worker have an economic interest in the sex tourist. Both parties are to gain financially by the movements of the sex tourist. This ultimately elevates the sex tourist to a position of economic power. Although the Travel Agent may morally disagree with the intended actions of the type of tourist, the reality is that the agent is dependent on the commission he or she will receive from booking them.
Likewise, although the sex worker may not be at all interested in pursuing any kind of romantic relationship with the sex tourist, the local economic reality makes him or her dependent on this form of foreign investment.
The Travel Agent is hungry to book travel. His own disposable income ebbs and flows with the wave of enquiry that floats his way. However his economic position in the tourism industry means that any moral convictions of his have to remain unspoken and ignored. This is assuming the Travel Agent is interested in his own economic welfare.
This article is not to say that sex tourism is necessarily bad; it is purely written with the hope that more discussion will be tolerated on how those within the travel industry are to respond to this important global issue.
*Want to help stop child exploitation around the world? Then check out Project Karma which is an initiative focused on giving a voice to the voiceless, whose new Executive Director happens to be regular KarryOn contributor, Mark Luckey.