The Ethical Problems of Tourism: Sex Tourism
Ysrael Jacob A. Magaan Ethics 101
BSHM 1B
Prof. Maria Elizabeth Villabroza Ethical issues on tourism Sex tourism
Sex tourism is the term used for travel with the intent to engage in sexual activity. The United Nations World Tourism Association defines sex tourism in their Global Code of Ethics for Tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary purpose of effecting a commercial sexual relationship by the tourist with residents at the destination. The Philippines, like some other Southeast Asian countries, has an unfortunate reputation for prostitution and sex tourism. It’s a huge industry domestically with an estimated 800,000 men, women and, sadly, children working in the trade. The country’s international image as a sex destination was largely a result of the US military presence here during and after World War II when “go go” or “girlie” bars flourished around the bases at Clark and Subic Bay. While it’s illegal to sell or procure sex, the trade still operates under the guise of entertainment: sex workers are employed as singers, dancers, waitresses or “guest relations officers” in clubs and bars where they are expected to leave with any client who pays a fee. Then there’s what are euphemistically dubbed “freelancers”, prostitutes that independently cruise bars looking for paying customers. According to the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women ,some fifteen thousand Australian men a year visit Angeles, north of Manila, on sex tours; plenty of Americans, Brits and Europeans join them, while Koreans, Taiwanese and Chinese have developed their own networks, usually based on karaoke bars and restaurants. Manila, Cebu City, Subic Bay and Pasay City are also major sex destinations. “Child prostitution”
Child Protection in the Philippines estimates that almost half the prostitutes in the Philippines are underage, many of them street children lured
BSHM 1B
Prof. Maria Elizabeth Villabroza Ethical issues on tourism Sex tourism
Sex tourism is the term used for travel with the intent to engage in sexual activity. The United Nations World Tourism Association defines sex tourism in their Global Code of Ethics for Tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary purpose of effecting a commercial sexual relationship by the tourist with residents at the destination. The Philippines, like some other Southeast Asian countries, has an unfortunate reputation for prostitution and sex tourism. It’s a huge industry domestically with an estimated 800,000 men, women and, sadly, children working in the trade. The country’s international image as a sex destination was largely a result of the US military presence here during and after World War II when “go go” or “girlie” bars flourished around the bases at Clark and Subic Bay. While it’s illegal to sell or procure sex, the trade still operates under the guise of entertainment: sex workers are employed as singers, dancers, waitresses or “guest relations officers” in clubs and bars where they are expected to leave with any client who pays a fee. Then there’s what are euphemistically dubbed “freelancers”, prostitutes that independently cruise bars looking for paying customers. According to the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women ,some fifteen thousand Australian men a year visit Angeles, north of Manila, on sex tours; plenty of Americans, Brits and Europeans join them, while Koreans, Taiwanese and Chinese have developed their own networks, usually based on karaoke bars and restaurants. Manila, Cebu City, Subic Bay and Pasay City are also major sex destinations. “Child prostitution”
Child Protection in the Philippines estimates that almost half the prostitutes in the Philippines are underage, many of them street children lured