[casinobonyanes]

Well here's another sad quote from the same link:

Quietly, though, Thailand appears to have accepted its role as provider of sexual services to the rest of the planet. All that can be realistically asked is that it sets about doing it as cleanly and kindly as possible: that means tackling poverty in the rural north and corruption in the police force, as well as properly addressing the problem of the trafficked and the underage. The country would be aided in the latter by more honesty from the NGOs who have been given so many millions of aid dollars to tackle these problems.

Travelling to Thailand for sex will continue. The brand is established. The beautiful young woman wrapped in silk with her demure but inviting smile is a feature of Thai travel posters across the world. The promise is of "happiness on earth"—the delights of paradise just a cheap flight away. Most of the traditional tourist attractions are disappearing. The country's beaches are overexploited, its forests shrinking and the islands poisoned by tourists' waste. But Thailand and its neighbours retain one renewable resource for the tourists that is not in danger of running out—the supply of poor, smiling women.
What is striking is how much money the small percentage of foreign tourists bring into Thailand. We are talking billions of dollars. Even though the article is 6 years old, that is a significant portion of the GDP.

I also concur that the western media isn't helping matters much. I mean, look at the movie 'Bangkok Dangerous' with Nicolas Cage. As the movie was set in Thailand, I already knew before I saw it there would be scenes set along some of the 'red-light' areas and lo and behold the Cage character is walking along one of those areas, and goes into, surprise, a go go type bar. It seems like it's obligatory for any foreign movie maker in Thailand to insert scenes with the red light districts in them, along with "alluring" and "exotic" images of scantily clad ladies dancing on stage. Really sad.