'Third World paradise': How sex tourists in Thailand perceive themselves, their hosts and the industry

The goal of this research is to examine how pleasure travellers, particularly sex tourists, see themselves in relation to their hosts. Discourse analysis is used to examine how the use of particular language amongst travellers and sex tourists reflects their understanding (or lack thereof) of cultural and gender issues, as well as colonial history, in determining their attitudes towards, and perception of, their hosts. An analysis of postings on a popular sex travellers' forum, the World Sex Guide (WSG), provides insight into how sex tourists understand the industry and how they see themselves in relation to the sex workers, as well as how sex tourists come to view themselves as dominant entities, entitled to receive sexual services from women whom they see as subordinate. This research focuses specifically on Thailand, as it has a robust sex-for-sale industry and has a reputation for being one of the premier sex tourism destinations in the world for heterosexual exchanges. A total of 355 posts were analyzed as part of this research.;The research found that most tourists (particularly those travelling to developing countries) and sex tourists in general, tend to approach their experiences and interactions with local peoples from a dominant position, and this privileged status is often used to their advantage in order to leverage services or experiences. Easy access to and availability of sex workers, using money to leverage power, and a perceived dominant status as a Eurowestern tourist all work together to provide an encounter that is most often controlled by the client. While it appears that tourists are often aware of their privileged position, this does not mean that they will use that awareness to inform their interactions with those in the host country.;Sex tourist destinations are often seen as racialized and gendered spaces amongst travelers, an understanding that may be a result of stereotypes, the popular media, or targeted marketing campaigns. This study found that language choices used to describe encounters and experiences in Thailand reinforced such understandings. The language used by members of the WSG forum was fairly uniform; new and seasoned writers alike seemed to be able to understand and relate to one another. They often shared the same opinion on how these relationships or encounters differed from those they could expect to have at home; the social, economic and cultural difference between themselves and their hosts made it possible to elevate access to services and experiences that they would likely not encounter in their home country.;Overall, the data suggests that the individuals who use the WSG forum share the same views in regard to sex tourism, including the commodification of women (those who work in the industry, as well as others), their superior position as privileged, Eurowestern travellers, and their sense of entitlement to access sexual services. The three overarching themes that emerged from this research are power relations, use of language to subordinate and exploitation.