Once upon a time Pattaya was little more than a sleepy fishing village. During the war in Vietnam, American soldiers started spending rest and relaxation time in the town. Enterprising locals started opening businesses to cater to the foreigner visitors. A few bars with available women rose up first. Then more bars came along.
Eventually soldiers returned to their countries with tales of sexy Thai women. Pattaya continued to grow as some veterans returned to the town with their friends. Word got out to wider circles and before long tourists started piling in. Today some male tourists bring their families along. Yet even more guys visit as single men.
Pattaya is world renown for prostitution and that’s a fact. Known as Thailand’s “Sin City” the place has a reputation for bars and bar girls. The city is filled with go go bars, erotic massage parlors, soapy massage parlors, beer bars, blow job bars, gay bars and ladyboy bars. For the last several decades these establishments have been the main draw to the city.
As the popular shirts sold across Thailand so aptly put it: “Good guys go to Heaven. Bad guys go to Pattaya”. The sex industry is the main economic driver of the city. But how long will that last?
Bad boys go to Pattaya
It has become clear that some people do not like the reality of Pattaya as a destination for those seeking sex. But that does not change the fact that it is indeed the truth on the ground. At the same time there has been a marked change in the city over the last couple of decades.
First there was the influx of Russian tourists. The first wave subsided but was followed up by a more recent rise in Russian visitors. Many come as families. Some purchase condos and stay onboard permanently.
The same can be said about the throngs of Chinese tourists that come to Pattaya. The numbers dried up for a couple of years. But now Chinese guests are returning in significant numbers. They often come in groups complete with grandmothers and children. If you’ve been to Pattaya then you’ve probably seen the crowds with their tour leaders.
Countless viral outrages and news reports have also played a part. There were videos of outrageous behavior such as public oral sex. There were reports in mainstream news outlets calling the city “Sex capital of the world“. Then there was investigative reporting with sensual themes that shocked the pearl clutching public.
The responses were as to be expected. A minister proclaimed that the local sex industry would be eliminated. Yet police did an inspection of Walking Street that found “no prostitution“. Some bars were raided. Yet others opened that were raunchier than ever.
While all this was transpiring a whole host of family friendly attractions opened in Pattaya to cater to the “mainstream tourist”. Today you can find everything from shopping malls, amusement parks, temples, farm tours, boat tours, art centers, elephant and tiger encounters, markets, gardens, museums and more in and around the town. These places are open to all. Thought the average Soi 6 regular couldn’t care less about any of them.
Where is Pattaya headed?
Indeed some Pattaya long timers and regulars openly scorn the rise of a “family friendly Pattaya”. Business people and those with local investments seem to have more mixed feelings. That makes sense. If I owned stake in a restaurant or one of the many news malls or apartment complexes I would likely have an interest in seeing more and better off people come to the town. It boils down to simple economics.
Therein lies the rub. There are tens of thousands of sex workers in Thailand. Many hail from impoverished areas and are the main source of financial support for their extended families. While prostitution can be found in every part of Thailand a large concentration of sex workers is based in Pattaya.
Trying to eliminate the sex industry in Pattaya would require incredibly harsh measures and have major impacts on untold numbers of people. It would also make ripples throughout a society where significant numbers of people at various levels of power benefit directly or indirectly from the money being made.
It would also go against the general trend towards liberalization in Thailand. While the country is famous for repeated coups and military dictatorships laws have actually been loosening up in recent years. That is most famously reflected in the decision to legalize marijuana. Weed dispensaries now flourish across the country and most definitely in Pattaya.
No popular mandate for any major crackdown on prostitution in Pattaya seems to exist. Walking Street is still promoted as a major tourist attraction right along with Ripley’s Believe or Not and the Sanctuary of Truth. Most local people accept sex work and many participate in the industry as buyers or sellers. Even those who own hotels and other mainstream businesses must recognize that they too benefit from the crowds of people who visit. Including those who come with a desire to have sex.
Because of this I don’t foresee any extreme changes in the near future. I am no clairvoyant but experience tells me things will continue to gradually congeal around a new normal. Walking Street will remain as a major draw. Some other areas may be toned down or eliminated completely. Most tourist friendly venues will open up in the prime real estate around the beach. Meanwhile the more hardcore action will be focused more in out-of-the-way gentlemen’s clubs and other private venues. Indeed this transformation seems to have already started!
I was in Pattaya last October, and it was far from being “family friendly” , but that hasn’t stopped guys from showing up with their whole families in tow. These tend to be middle-eastern or South Asian types. I’m guessing these guys wanted to go to Patts to lear at the women but they had to take their family along – so they did. I’ve seen one of those guys leave his wife clad in her Islamic drag, leave his wife outside of a massage parlor while he went in for a rub and tug! And the muslim father pushing his child in a stroller along the Coconut Bar after dark, with his wife, mother-in-law and orther children following behind. It was a digusting sight. Still, I have also passed a group of white, westerners that included at least three children walking down Soi 6a (that dark, ladyboy infested alley behing Soi 60). In the two weeks that I spent there earlier this year, I failed to see anything very family oriented, though that didn’t stop families from strolling down Walking Street at night. It makes no sense at all, and I can’t see Patts becoming a family destination. Isn’t that what Phuket, Hua Hin and other beach resort towns are for? Still, there are those who simply don’t share our common sense.
Thanks for the comment. Families have been visiting regularly for maybe 10 years. Russians, Indians, Middle Easterners and Chinese families seem to be most common. But I’ve encountered families from places like England too. The transformation of the city is also highly visibly with things like the Terminal 21 Mall, Royal Garden Plaza, Ramayana Water Park, Art in Paradise, and the Tiger Park. All those condos going up aren’t being built for guys who hang out in beer bars on Soi 7 either. Cheers.
Yes I understand Chinese or Middle Eastern families there but from Europe(except Russia) why ? I do not think Pattaya cheaper than other beach places(except Phuket) in Thailand and I am almost sure not nicer. Only the location around 60/90min from BKK is the plus and no need for a new flight but that’s all. Almost everybody heard about the famous nightlife so why the hell go there with your kids…
I’m not exactly sure why. Though some are promoting the area as a family tourist destination. So perhaps the tourists are buying into that. There is no beach in Bangkok. But there is one in Phuket. Cheers.
It’s very common in Pattaya to see every night a Chinese tour guide taking his/her bus tour through the walking street and maybe later at night you can meet one of the customers at some soapy massage, even lady groups are very curious about these places.
This is true. And as I have reported, some of the tourist women from places like China, Korea and Russia are going to bars to pay for time with guys too.
I think there is more girls in Pattaya than ever before, if you count bars, massage and freelancer somebody mentioned the number 100 t during high season. Soi 6 is much more in your face compared to 10 years ago.
Sure, quite resorts and Bangkok and normal tourism will increase even more, also mainstream visitors to Pattaya, but this industry will continue to blossom. I am actually surprised that the Entertainment sector has such a strong pullfactor on young thai women. Its very hard to explain this to friends in the West..
I guess money is the main draw. That and a tacit social acceptance. Sex work is also common in Japan, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Romania and several other countries. Cheers.
Still many girls but in my opinion the really hot ones not easy to find anymore, before it was much better. Now the 9or10/10 looking girls using Instagram to earn money, some OF or even live broadcast on TikTok. Quite easy for them to earn enough money or hook up with 2-3 sugardaddies.
It’s subjective but I feel that the women working in the bars were much more fit and attractive 10 years ago. Cheers.
I think it’s easier to find hot girls in BKK than Pattaya nowadays.
That may very well be true. Cheers.