Sex trade has hard time
In Patpong, Bangkok’s most notorious red-light district, go-go girls count their livelihood by the number of sex tourists they entertain. “Three inches, three minutes, 3,000 baht ($87),” laughs Goy, a 25-year-old bar girl. Last summer, she and her fellow pole dancers at the Camelot Castle entertained scores of men every night — first in the bar, where they earn a monthly salary, then at the customer’s hotel, where they negotiate their own rates.
But as cash-strapped travellers turn their backs on Thailand — tourism officials say revenues will plunge 35% this year — the ranks of men cruising Patpong have thinned dramatically. On a recent Wednesday evening, just three tourists watched a visibly disgruntled Goy wiggle around her pole. “I haven’t had a customer in five nights,” she says, “and I’m lucky if someone buys me a drink.”
As the recession continues to bite, sex workers from Bangkok to Berlin share Goy’s frustration. “People just don’t spend that freely anymore,” says Anke Christiansen, co-founder of Hamburg’s Geizhaus (”Das Original Discount Bordell”) where visitor numbers have dropped by as much as 20% since the crisis began. “Customers who used to come to us three times a week now limit themselves to once a week.
“That newfound restraint has already forced some brothels to shut their doors. In the Czech Republic, where 14% of men admit to having slept with a prostitute, up to half of all sex establishments outside of Prague have closed in the past year, says Hana Malinova, director of the local prostitution-outreach group Bliss Without Risk.
The world’s oldest profession isn’t about to take the recession lying down. Brothels and bathhouses have launched promotions — including free shuttle buses and senior-citizen discounts — in a bid to arouse interest among wary spenders. As part of a new deal at Yes Sir! in Hanover, Germany, customers pay $111 to have as much sex as they want (or can) for one hour.
At Geizhaus, recent promotions allowed guests to have sex for free on Halloween and Easter if they wore a costume or brought in a decorated egg. And Berlin’s Pussy Club charges guests a $98 flat rate for six hours of unlimited sex, access to a sauna and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Yes the recession hits all walks of life, if punters don’t have the cash they can’t visit a brothel, and the prostitutes don’t get paid. Same as in every walk of life. So why not do a BOGOF? Buy on prostitute get one free? Most other work areas are considering this type of thing to attract customers.
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