The growing American military presence in Vietnam in the early 1960’s and the long tours of duty led to Thailand’s agreement to provide “rest and recreation” for the American servicemen. The GIs referred to this as "I&I, ... intercourse and intoxication” (Gay 67). The great influx of American dollars into the Thai economy was more than welcome and the Thai government did not take time to be concerned with precisely where the money was being spent, mostly

This issue is skirted by the Thai government, which turns a blind eye toward prostitution, saying that “prostitution does not exist because it is illegal” (Economist 2/8/92). The government is complicit in the sex trade as is white washes the media output on related issues. The prostitutes are viewed as a national resource and economic asset. These women play a vital role in the tourism industry which, "including group sex tours, is Thailand's largest single source of foreign exchange” (Rhodes 65). The major reason behind the continuance of the sex trade in Thailand is the influx of dollars and the wide scale police corruption. The industry is estimated to gross about four billion dollars annually for the Thai economy.

Sex tourism, although important to the Thai economy, has many serious consequences that have to a large extent been painted over by the media. Due to Thailand’s dependence on the tourism industry it would be impossible to completely abolish the trade at once. A more equitable distribution of resources among the people of Thailand is necessary for Thailand to be able to end the sex trade. It is important for the world, as well as the

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