page_title: Prostitution in Thailand
section_title: Location
hierarchical_section_title: Prostitution in Thailand / Location
caption_attribution_description: Bangkok, Thailand
context_page_description: Prostitution has been common in Thailand for centuries. During the Ayutthaya Kingdom, prostitution was legal and taxed, and the state ran brothels. Prostitution is not illegal in Thailand, although many activities associated with it are. Nevertheless, it was estimated to be worth US$6.4 billion a year in revenue, accounting for a significant portion of the national GDP.
context_section_description: The primary tourist "prostitution zones" of Thailand are often identified as the red-light districts of Bangkok and Pattaya as well as Patong Beach Resort on Phuket Island. In addition Hat Yai and other Malaysian border cities cater to Malaysians. In Bangkok the areas most commonly associated with prostitution include the entertainment district of Patpong as well as locations in the western Sukhumvit Road area such as the street called Soi Cowboy and the Nana Plaza building. The area known as the Ratchadaphisek entertainment district, running along Ratchadaphisek Road near the Huai Khwang intersection, is the location of several large entertainment venues which include sexual massage. Lumphini Park in central Bangkok is well-known as a prostitution spot after dark. In Pattaya the primary areas associated with prostitution are Boyztown, Sunee Plaza and Walking Street.
  Rather than face of the risks of working independently, many sex workers trade their freedom for the relative safety that comes with fixed employment in businesses such as "karaoke" bars, "massage" parlours, or brothels. Prostitution may take place in a number of different types of venues, including brothels, hotels, massage parlours, restaurants, saunas, hostess bars, go-go bars and "beer bars". Many other service sector workers offer sexual services as a sideline. Thai prostitution is divided into different sectors that serve different markets (the main criteria being the socioeconomic status of customers and the nationality of both customers and prostitutes). Straightforward brothels, which offer no services aside from sex, represent the lower end of the market. These are most common outside Bangkok, serving low-income Thai men.
  Prostitution is prohibited under Thai law, but karaoke bars and massage parlours can be registered as normal, legal businesses. When arrests of sex workers occur at such premises, police usually treat the act of prostitution as an exchange between the sex worker and the client—an exchange to which the owner of the business was not a party. Cases of clients being charged are few and far between, giving rise to the popular quip that, "employing sex workers is legal, being a sex worker is illegal, clients get off scot-free." Owners of such establishments are only accused of crimes when breaking other laws, such as the employment of underage workers or illegal migrants.
caption: Soi Cowboy, Bangkok
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