Thai resort city Pattaya tries to shake seedy image with ‘Happy Zone’ in infamous red-light district
Strict new rules could impact the sex trade on Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street
With mascots dressed as smiling fish and a police rock band, Thai authorities launched a “Happy Zone” at the weekend to improve the image of a city notorious for sex tourism.
Stung by foreign headlines portraying the seaside resort of Pattaya as “Sin City” and “The World’s Sex Capital”, Thailand’s junta has begun a new effort to re-brand it.
But the contradictions in Pattaya highlight Thailand’s challenge in tackling a side of its tourist industry that remains economically vital while being officially excoriated.
“I want people to see that we are not like what they say. We are not allowing prostitution in these entertainment places,” provincial governor Pakkaratorn Teianchai told reporters on the infamous Walking Street in Pattaya, southeast of Bangkok.
Less than 10 metres away, women accosted foreign men to offer sex for 2,000 baht ($60). Others lined up with numbers so customers could take their pick. Masseuses in miniskirts offered “happy ending” massages whose euphemistic title has nothing to do with the Happy Zone of the authorities.