Priced Out of Pattaya: Trickle-Down Economics in Asia’s City of Sin
East Asia Tribune
Penelope Qiao’s first assignment for the East Asia Tribune saw her travel to Pattaya, the Thai beachside town with a reputation for debauchery. Traditionally a playground for middle-class Westerners, the city is emerging as a new destination for the super-rich, and the resulting premiumization has begun to price many lower-end tourists out of the market. Will Pattaya lose its mass-market appeal in favour of catching the big fish? Or will the budget market still find a way to be serviced?
I was sipping a Virgin Mary in one of Walking Street’s go-go bars when a man with a British accent turned to me and asked “Three thousand?” I looked up from the copy of the Bangkok Post I had been reading and said: “Pardon me?” The man grinned. “Your long-time fee love, is it three thousand baht?” I shook my head. “Oh no,” I replied. “I think you’ll find I’m a little out of your price range.” His grin evaporated, replaced with a sour expression. “That seems to be happening a lot these days,” he complained. I nodded, as that was the exact trend that had brought me to Pattaya in the first place. “I don’t suppose you would agree to be interviewed?” I asked. After his initial surprise at learning I was a journalist, Paul (not his real name) graciously accepted my request. “I’ve been coming here for the best part of a decade,” he told me “And each time things just keep getting more and more expensive.” A 53-year old transport worker from Leeds, Paul is a Pattaya veteran, having taken an annual month-long holiday to the beachside resort since his second divorce in 2005. “After that, I decided I’d had enough with marriage, and I must say I don’t have many regrets about that decision.”
Paul’s story is hardly unique among the single male tourists that make up the largest percentage of Pattaya’s visitors. Following the breakdown of marriages, many men book a trip to the Thai resort in search of female companionship, and for a price this can easily be arranged. Although, as Paul and many other men I talked to lamented, that price is perpetually climbing. “On my first trip here, back in 2005, I think the average short-time bar fine would’ve been around 200 baht,” mentioned Paul, a sum equivalent to roughly US$6 at the current exchange rate. “Now, at the higher-end places, you’re lucky to get any change from 2,000.” The bar fine system exists in Pattaya bars to compensate the venue’s owner for the absence of their female employees. Customers pay the fine to the bar, which permits the girl to accompany them outside the premises, typically back to a hotel. Short-time bar fines usually allow an absence of around two hours, while a long-time fine is required for activities lasting the entire night. Paul’s anecdotal evidence is broadly in line with that shared by other Pattaya veterans, suggesting a compound annual growth rate of nearly 1,000% over the last ten years. “In the early days, I would come here for a month and probably sleep with twenty girls in that time,” said Paul. “Now, I can only afford about five.”
The bar fine is only the first part of the transaction when planning a night of activities in Pattaya. “Once you’ve paid the bar fine, you also have to negotiate a price with the girl for whatever you have in mind for the rest of the night. And this doesn’t come cheap either.” Paul shared with me his tips on getting a good deal. “It’s always important to agree on a price prior to leaving the bar,” he told me. “The first time I came to Pattaya, I brought a girl back to the hotel and we did the deed first before we discussed business. She told me her fee was 5,000 baht.” He winced as he recalled that costly mistake. “I ended up bargaining her down to 4,000, but at that point you really don’t have much leverage.” Sometimes the negotiations can be tough, he explained. “At times when you ask a lady for her price, she’ll act all coy and ask you to tell her how much you think it should be. Watch out if you try and low-ball her; you’ll get a very dirty look.” Similar to the rapid growth of bar fines, Paul mentioned the cost of compensating Pattaya’s bar girls for their services is also rising at a similar rate. “Pattaya used to be a dream: cheap accommodation, cheap food and cheap girls. Now, even though you can still find bargains in hotels and restaurants, the real drawcard gets more expensive each time I come back.”
Paul’s comments around Pattaya accommodation and dining options remaining good value is generally true, but there has been rapid growth in premium offerings catering to wealthier visitors. According to data from industry sources, the average room rate of a Pattaya hotel room has increased by more than 500% over the last ten years, and is now around US$110. “Ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been more than a handful of five-star hotels in Pattaya,” said Kulap Somsak, an analyst at a tourism consultancy group based in Bangkok. “Now, there are over 30, and the forecast is for this number to rise to 50 by 2020.” According to Mr Somsak, the growth in high-end tourism is part of a wider trend seen across Thailand as the nation becomes increasingly prosperous. “Thailand’s GDP has more than doubled over the last decade, and it’s expected to reach US$500 bn by 2020” he said. “On the back of that, real wages have enjoyed equally strong growth.” The data confirms the views of Paul and other Western tourists in Pattaya that the market is turning against them.
“There are other reasons why Pattaya is rapidly becoming more expensive,” noted Lawan Kamon, a professor of economics. “The main commodity that attracts male tourists to the city is facing a supply crisis.” The forces of supply and demand shape all facets of the economy, and Pattaya’s bar girls are no exception. “Thailand itself has experienced a rapid demographic shift over the last few decades,” explained Ms Kamon. “The Thai fertility rate in the 1970s stood at 5.8, but as of the most recent data this has declined to 1.4.” This trend, combined with rising average incomes, has led to a shortage of available Thai women in the 18-29 age range that are tempted to be employed in the bar girl industry. “The job is no longer as attractive to many women, considering that they can now earn decent wages in alternative industries.” Ms Kamon went on to add: “For those that remain employed as bar girls, due to the falling supply but ever-increasing demand, prices have naturally risen dramatically.”
All of this is cold comfort to men like Paul who have found their once-mighty purchasing power eroded away in Pattaya. “I’ve heard there’s a place in the Philippines which is just like Pattaya was ten years ago,” he told me. We were interrupted as a go-go dancer swung by the bar and engaged Paul in a discussion. After some flirting, she asked him “Can you get me a drink?” Paul frowned as he pulled out his wallet. “Sorry sweetheart,” he said, revealing he was down to his last 100 baht; not enough to purchase even the cheapest drink on the menu. She pouted and switched her focus to an American man seated opposite us. Paul sighed. “That’s it; I’m definitely not coming here again.” I couldn’t help but feel that was true on many levels.
East Asia Tribune
Penelope Qiao’s first assignment for the East Asia Tribune saw her travel to Pattaya, the Thai beachside town with a reputation for debauchery. Traditionally a playground for middle-class Westerners, the city is emerging as a new destination for the super-rich, and the resulting premiumization has begun to price many lower-end tourists out of the market. Will Pattaya lose its mass-market appeal in favour of catching the big fish? Or will the budget market still find a way to be serviced?
I was sipping a Virgin Mary in one of Walking Street’s go-go bars when a man with a British accent turned to me and asked “Three thousand?” I looked up from the copy of the Bangkok Post I had been reading and said: “Pardon me?” The man grinned. “Your long-time fee love, is it three thousand baht?” I shook my head. “Oh no,” I replied. “I think you’ll find I’m a little out of your price range.” His grin evaporated, replaced with a sour expression. “That seems to be happening a lot these days,” he complained. I nodded, as that was the exact trend that had brought me to Pattaya in the first place. “I don’t suppose you would agree to be interviewed?” I asked. After his initial surprise at learning I was a journalist, Paul (not his real name) graciously accepted my request. “I’ve been coming here for the best part of a decade,” he told me “And each time things just keep getting more and more expensive.” A 53-year old transport worker from Leeds, Paul is a Pattaya veteran, having taken an annual month-long holiday to the beachside resort since his second divorce in 2005. “After that, I decided I’d had enough with marriage, and I must say I don’t have many regrets about that decision.”
Paul’s story is hardly unique among the single male tourists that make up the largest percentage of Pattaya’s visitors. Following the breakdown of marriages, many men book a trip to the Thai resort in search of female companionship, and for a price this can easily be arranged. Although, as Paul and many other men I talked to lamented, that price is perpetually climbing. “On my first trip here, back in 2005, I think the average short-time bar fine would’ve been around 200 baht,” mentioned Paul, a sum equivalent to roughly US$6 at the current exchange rate. “Now, at the higher-end places, you’re lucky to get any change from 2,000.” The bar fine system exists in Pattaya bars to compensate the venue’s owner for the absence of their female employees. Customers pay the fine to the bar, which permits the girl to accompany them outside the premises, typically back to a hotel. Short-time bar fines usually allow an absence of around two hours, while a long-time fine is required for activities lasting the entire night. Paul’s anecdotal evidence is broadly in line with that shared by other Pattaya veterans, suggesting a compound annual growth rate of nearly 1,000% over the last ten years. “In the early days, I would come here for a month and probably sleep with twenty girls in that time,” said Paul. “Now, I can only afford about five.”
The bar fine is only the first part of the transaction when planning a night of activities in Pattaya. “Once you’ve paid the bar fine, you also have to negotiate a price with the girl for whatever you have in mind for the rest of the night. And this doesn’t come cheap either.” Paul shared with me his tips on getting a good deal. “It’s always important to agree on a price prior to leaving the bar,” he told me. “The first time I came to Pattaya, I brought a girl back to the hotel and we did the deed first before we discussed business. She told me her fee was 5,000 baht.” He winced as he recalled that costly mistake. “I ended up bargaining her down to 4,000, but at that point you really don’t have much leverage.” Sometimes the negotiations can be tough, he explained. “At times when you ask a lady for her price, she’ll act all coy and ask you to tell her how much you think it should be. Watch out if you try and low-ball her; you’ll get a very dirty look.” Similar to the rapid growth of bar fines, Paul mentioned the cost of compensating Pattaya’s bar girls for their services is also rising at a similar rate. “Pattaya used to be a dream: cheap accommodation, cheap food and cheap girls. Now, even though you can still find bargains in hotels and restaurants, the real drawcard gets more expensive each time I come back.”
Paul’s comments around Pattaya accommodation and dining options remaining good value is generally true, but there has been rapid growth in premium offerings catering to wealthier visitors. According to data from industry sources, the average room rate of a Pattaya hotel room has increased by more than 500% over the last ten years, and is now around US$110. “Ten years ago, there wouldn’t have been more than a handful of five-star hotels in Pattaya,” said Kulap Somsak, an analyst at a tourism consultancy group based in Bangkok. “Now, there are over 30, and the forecast is for this number to rise to 50 by 2020.” According to Mr Somsak, the growth in high-end tourism is part of a wider trend seen across Thailand as the nation becomes increasingly prosperous. “Thailand’s GDP has more than doubled over the last decade, and it’s expected to reach US$500 bn by 2020” he said. “On the back of that, real wages have enjoyed equally strong growth.” The data confirms the views of Paul and other Western tourists in Pattaya that the market is turning against them.
“There are other reasons why Pattaya is rapidly becoming more expensive,” noted Lawan Kamon, a professor of economics. “The main commodity that attracts male tourists to the city is facing a supply crisis.” The forces of supply and demand shape all facets of the economy, and Pattaya’s bar girls are no exception. “Thailand itself has experienced a rapid demographic shift over the last few decades,” explained Ms Kamon. “The Thai fertility rate in the 1970s stood at 5.8, but as of the most recent data this has declined to 1.4.” This trend, combined with rising average incomes, has led to a shortage of available Thai women in the 18-29 age range that are tempted to be employed in the bar girl industry. “The job is no longer as attractive to many women, considering that they can now earn decent wages in alternative industries.” Ms Kamon went on to add: “For those that remain employed as bar girls, due to the falling supply but ever-increasing demand, prices have naturally risen dramatically.”
All of this is cold comfort to men like Paul who have found their once-mighty purchasing power eroded away in Pattaya. “I’ve heard there’s a place in the Philippines which is just like Pattaya was ten years ago,” he told me. We were interrupted as a go-go dancer swung by the bar and engaged Paul in a discussion. After some flirting, she asked him “Can you get me a drink?” Paul frowned as he pulled out his wallet. “Sorry sweetheart,” he said, revealing he was down to his last 100 baht; not enough to purchase even the cheapest drink on the menu. She pouted and switched her focus to an American man seated opposite us. Paul sighed. “That’s it; I’m definitely not coming here again.” I couldn’t help but feel that was true on many levels.
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