If we talk about sex tourism most people assume that we are talking about a country like Thailand where sex tourism heavily occurs. Nevertheless sex tourism also occurs in the South of Europe in a country such as Bulgaria. Bulgaria, especially Sunny Beach which is situated at the Black Sea and offers a long boulevard with numerous bars, restaurants, discotheques, strip clubs and brothels is a very attractive location for sex tourism.
Young adults (between the ages of 16 and 30, with an average of 20) from all over the world travel to Bulgaria to spend their vacation in Sunny Beach and because of the increasing number of tourists the rates of sex tourism are also increasing. If we are talking about sex tourism in Sunny Beach we are not talking about sex tourism in the way of going to a country especially to have sex with local residents (especially children) there. In this case, sex tourism is described as going to Sunny Beach to party, drink a substantial amount of alcohol and then visit a strip club or brothel and eventually this can lead to having sex with a prostitute. In Sunny Beach it is also common for prostitutes to offer themselves by approaching males of all ages and invite them for sex. (Hesse & Tutenges, 2010)
What is noticed from the article is that a large amount of the present young adults (from Sweden) in Sunny Beach are ‘first timers’, which means they are visiting strip clubs and brothels for the first time and paying the employees for having sex. This is associated with ‘heavier drinking both on holiday and at home’ (Hesse & Tutenges, 2010), the use of Viagra and the absence of using a condom while having sex.
The discussion is about whether or not the attendance of the questioned respondents in strip clubs and them paying for sex is different from their behaviour at home (in Denmark), if it goes about the amount of alcohol that is consumed, the use of Viagra and on the situation that the persons are travelling with or without family members.
My view on all of the above (also based on my personal experience from going to Sunny Beach) is that young adults do behave differently then at home. The young adults experience less restraints then at their hometown and this can result in wild behaviour. The slogan which is mentioned frequently is that ‘everything is possible on a vacation’ and this is again enlarged by substantial consumption of alcohol (which is really low priced at Sunny Beach). Having fun is the main reason for going on a holiday and when the young adults are without their parents or other elder important persons in their lives, this can result in behaviour which is significantly different from the behaviour that they have at home because they want to explore their own limits.
But why should people behave differently when they are in a new environment away from their trusted home situation? Is it about showing how tough they are? Or is it just a natural habit for young adults to explore all of life? It is not yet clear what the motivation is for these young adults to visit the strip clubs and brothels, therefore more research is necessary. But if you ask me, I would say that it is in the nature of all young adults to explore all sides of tourism, including ‘sex-tourism’.
Reference
Hesse, M., & Tutenges, S. (2011). Young tourists visiting strip clubs and paying for sex. Tourism Management, 32(4), 869-874 – Link to reference article.
Hey Michella,
sex tourism is a problem that will probably even increase in the near future. As you said, it is important to differ between sex tourism in e.g. Thailand or the described phenomenon in Sunny Beach / Bulgaria. An answer to your question why young people behave differently on vacations, I cannot give you, but I think the explained phenomenon can also be observed on the weekends in your local community. Of course this effect is more often observable on holidays, far away from home, where noone except of the friends will notice everything. I think in this context it would be interesting to interview people in different tourism destinations to see what their opinions are and to see which motivations lay behind their planned and booked vacation. Furthermore the question is if the destinations approve this behaviour and even support it? In this case probably nothing will change and a new destination is produced for youngsters to sense “freedom” and their first sexual experiences. Maybe a trend that is as well useful and necessary among the youth in the process of finding their identity.
Hey Michella,
As Marie has already pointed out, sex tourism is definitely a problem and gaining in popularity. You mentioned that it has to be differentiated between sex tourism in Thailand that often affects under aged girls and sex tourism in, for example, Bulgaria. The question I am asking myself now is if the prostitution of children is not also a problem in Bulgaria? The way you have described the whole scenario of people being approached and no protection is being used can lead to the assumption that the police tolerates this issue and therefore it is questionable if the prostitutes are all over the age of 18. Of course, Thailand is one of the countries frequently associated with child prostitution but this issue has to be addressed in other countries as well, especially with such an uprising trend of sex tourism.
Concerning the motivation of the travellers I want to add that of course it is the mentality of many young adults to experience as much as possible, but there must be a clear differentiation between going to a party location like Mallorca or Ibiza (where sun, sea and of course sex are part of the deal) or travelling to places in order to benefit from cheap prostitution.
Hi Marie,
Thank you for your comment. I agree that it would be interesting to interview people to get to know the motivations for behaving the way they do. I think it would be difficult because not many people talk about this subject easily, but it should be possible!
Hi Anja,
Thank you for your comment and I would like to come back to your question: if child prostitution is a problem in Bulgaria. The article is particularly based on the people who go to brothels and strip clubs and not on the people who work in this businesses. This would definitely be an interesting thing to research, also like the motivations for people to go to the strip clubs and brothels.
The trend you are describing is really disturbing, moreover local authorities in Bulgaria and Sunny Beach neglect their responsabilities to control the problem, because prostitution is not legal in Bulgaria.
Doing what they have to do and namely close down the illegal brothels will result in drop down in visitors number.
To answer the other question – if child prostitution is a problem in Bulgaria – I would say no; at least not as big as in Thailand. To be more precise I will explain. Most of the underaged prostitutes are from the Romany minority in Bulgaria and for them is absolutely normal to get married with 11-12 years old and to have sex and children at that age. With this argument I do not to justify this phenomenon, I just try to explain, why it is not considered that bad as in Thailand
Unfortunately I couldn’t gain access to the article, the author of this essay is referring to, so I hope I don’t misinterpret, but in my opinion this discussion is going wrong. The way tourism is described in Sunny Beach is wrong, that is not sex-tourism that is just tourism of young people and that so called “phenomenon” is not happening just in Bulgaria it is happening everywhere. Think about it, isn’t it young people drink and have sex (whit prostitutes or not) in: Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Golden Coast, Ibiza, Cancun, Bali and etc. Prostitutes don’t approach young males to offer them sex just in Bulgaria, that is just how prostitutes work. Might be the discussion is not about sex and tourism, rather is about why people act differently when they are on vacation. Then the answer can be as simple as that: you are NOT at home, you have NO responsibilities, you have NO supervision and NO one will know, then why not trying EVERYTHING. To give an example I am referring to “What happens here, stays here” slogan of a campaign started in 2003 which lead to the record – breaking 37.4 million visitors in Las Vegas in 2004*. Or might be the answer is not as simple as that and like the author of this essay is saying more research is needed, but then the case will not be about tourism, it will be about human psyche.
* Source: Mike Beirne, “Playing for Keeps”, Brandweek, October 11, 2004, pp. M6-11; Rich Thomaselli, “Las Vegas Ad Slogan Takes on Life of Its Own”, Advertising Age, March 8, 2004 p.6
Hi Michella,
It was interesting to read your article and the added comments. I think what is missing in the article – in the beginning briefly to clarify what sex tourism is. Is it type of tourism when sex is the main purpose of travel (intentional choice), or when it is unplanned, only as a part of the trip that makes the holiday more interesting, adventurous. The target group what you describe more belongs to the latter description what I could not define as a sex tourism. In the mean time, it can be an interesting research subject to find out how important it is for young adults to have a sexual experience during their holiday, at the end it can be described as a tourism product.
Hi Yulia,
Thanks for you reply, this is definitely an explanation about the difference of sex tourism in Thailand and in Bulgaria. It doesn’t justify it, but it makes it more clear!
make it more clear to explain what I meant by sex tourism.
Hi Silvija,
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you that I should have explained more specific what I meant with sex tourism in this case.
But I still think it is a kind of sex tourism because the people on their holiday are going to the brothels and strip clubs (planned and unplanned) and some of them are having sex with the employees of the brothels and strip clubs (also plannned and unplannend). An interesting thing to research would be if it is the main purpose on their holiday (like you mentioned) and what is their motivation for doing it.
I will definitely take your comment into account with writing my next article!
Hi Michella, not much to add to the above. Relevant topic that can be explored from many different sides and has been reviewed also in many articles, so you might want to look into those as well as the phenomenon is complex and not simple to take a position.
Hi Michella,
Unfortunately i dont agree this should labelled as ‘sex tourism’. Because it is not legal, the tourism policy is not based on income from sex tourism. it is an action takes place there among teenagers. However, it may happen in everywhere in the world, like mentioned in Ibiza, Mallorca etc. i think there are big differences between Thailand and Bulgaria. Teenage people are always behave different, more unresponsibly than at home when they are on holiday. Even i experienced in Turkey in bars,Scandinavian young girls dance on the bar with their underwears or sometimes naked. I think this is not the behaviour they act at home. But also this is not a sex tourism either.
But i liked your topic, it is so interesting and it was interesting to read comments on it.
As a Bulgarian I am not very happy that Sunny Beach is turning into a “cheap sex and alcohol destination” for young people from Western Europe. Still, I think to some extent it is true. But if it is happening that means there is a search for such entertainment and the market offers it. I am not saying it is good or bad. For example prostitution in Netherlands and Germany is legal and there are certain place where one can go. The bad thing is that there are no rules. The resot should be divided into silent parts and noisy parts. Bulgaria can offer also a lot of other attractions – excursions to historical sights and natural phenomena in the country (there are plenty of them) and to the city of Istanbul which is not far from Sunny beach.
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very true. when they are in other country they do silly things. but all of us making money somehow of tourism. so should be legal. 14 up… i usually go Thailand, simple as i dont have appetite anymore to flirt for days with euro girls to get them in bed. after reading this post, i see it is about night life. not sure should i go visit
Very energetic blog, I enjoyed that a lot. Perhaps there is a part 2? ekdgfdfcfbak
I would only go to brothels safer than streets I don’t believe in young girls having sex with grown men it’s sick is there any chance you could tell me where’s the safest brothels in sunny Beach Bulgaria
My friend, who is 62, and her female companion, were sold a holiday in a hotel in Sunny Beach. What kind of public sexual behaviour are they likely to witness, and are they safe from sexual advances?
Why is “Sex Tourism” a problem then? What makes it a problem, or is it a religious thing?
Tourist travelling for having sex is called sex Tourism – some tourists are interested in sex only and they compare their sex partner from countries to countries in details ! Only from the view of sex even they wrote their experience such as > where you can pick up quickly, who are better in bed, who will give you more pleasure in different ways- when you must have to be alert for your belongings and msny more. This types of tourist have no interest in any other fields!:Only they will discuss and compare regarding cheap enjoyment and the safety of the place so that they can return safely after having sex!!!