Publications in review

Tourism and prostitution☆

Sex and tourism has long been understudied. Little is known about tourists' motivations for consuming commercial sex while travelling, and even less, if indeed anything, is known about that of Chinese outbound tourists in particular. Based on twenty interviews and two surveys with a sample of 534 male Chinese tourists who had engaged in commercial sex when travelling overseas in the previous 12 months, this study aimed first to explore why male Chinese tourists travelled overseas and purchased commercial sex, and second to construct a comprehensive scale for measuring male tourists’ motivations for overseas commercial sex. With acceptable reliability and validity, the measurement scale yielded in this study consisted of eight motivation dimensions labelled as socialisation, relaxation and escape, travel-related novelty, sexual desire fulfillment/excitement seeking, sex-related learning, sexual mastery, social prestige, and business/pragmatic purpose. Both the theoretical and methodological implications related to the developed scale are also discussed.

This paper explores the nature of sex tourism on the Kenyan coast. Based on a study of women offering ‘romantic’ experiences to international tourists in the beach towns of Mombasa and Malindi, the research suggests that these women are motivated by the desire to have a better life that only a mzungu (white foreigner) can provide. The study further indicates that, such is the number of local women competing to engage tourists on ‘romantic safaris’; they have to employ different skills and at times seek the help of witchcraft and their supernatural powers to succeed. In the end, the women run a number of risks that include becoming addicted to the ‘easy life’ that in turn compromises their ability to do something else for a living. The research presents a case study and contributes to the literature by its cultural context and description of strategies employed by the ‘romantic entertainers’.

Considerable attention has been paid to sex tourism and this paper focuses upon an under-researched area: sex trafficking and sporting mega-events. Drawing upon qualitative research undertaken prior to the Vancouver Games, this paper aims both to examine stakeholder perceptions of the potential linkages between sex trafficking and the event, and to evaluate the preventative trafficking measures as they relate to the event. There is a continuum of perceptions regarding sex trafficking and the event: the Games can be a catalyst for trafficking; it is an uncertain risk; and, the Games are not a potential catalyst for trafficking. In terms of specific preventative measures, it is suggested that strategic planning lacked a centralised approach and there was a gap in the provision of awareness campaigns. Third sector groups led awareness campaigns which were criticised for being sensationalist and unrepresentative and, in addition, tensions in stakeholder relationships impinged upon a constructive partnership.

Although sex tourism has not been considered worthy of serious intellectual investigation, recently, there has been much advancement in understanding sex tourism. Majority of these studies portray the East where tourists look for sexual experiences unobtainable in the West, and highlight sex tourism in the context of the exploitation of developing countries. However, this opinion piece asks the question – “what happens when the gaze is reversed?” Millions of Indian and Chinese tourists increasingly visit North American, European and Australian destinations being fed with media images that Western women have no morals and are promiscuous. Hence, it is important and possibly more interesting to explore Asian tourists’ sexual adventures in the West. Future tourism scholars can investigate this fascinating paradigm shift which requires a deeper reading of Asian culture and tourists.