ognizant Communication Corporation

The following excerpts are from a book review by Vincent J. Del Casino Jr., Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, appearing in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers (1999, pp. 566-568):

Sex Tourism and Prostitution: Aspects of Leisure, Recreation, and Work. Martin Oppermann, ed. New York: Cognizant Communication Corp., 1998.

The goal of this edited volume is to address a lacuna in the field of tourism studies through a more detailed examination of the relationship between sex tourism and prostitution. In so doing, the editor and his contributing authors hope to expand the narrowly defined parameters of sex-tourism and prostitution studies and to provide a framework for future research. To do this, the editor has brought together a multidisciplinary set of international scholars, journalists, and activists, who make contributions to our understanding of, among other issues, child prostitution, motivations of sex tourists, the organization of sex-tourism places, international law and pedophilia, the economic dimensions of prostitution, and the role of the internet as sex-tourism site.

The intention of this volume is an important one: to expand the ways in which we think about the relationships between sex tourism and prostitution. There are some interesting chapters and some valuable insights made by several of the contributors.

...while this volume might offer something to undergraduates with limited knowledge of the subject, it has little for the scholar seeking to understand how to theorize and conduct research on sex tourism and prostitution.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Martin Oppermann

• Sex Tourism and Prostitution
• The Sex Tourist
• The Prostitutes
• The Place
• Summary

• Tourism Destination Images
• Nudity and Innuendo in Advertising
• Sexual Imagery and Tourism Marketing
• Sex and Marketing of Tourism Destinations
• The Case of Marketing Pacific Tourism Destinations
• Conclusion

• Tourism Development in Indonesia and Yogyakarta
• Street Guides in Yogyakarta
• Prostitution, the Pasar Economy, and Tourism

• Tourism and Child Prostitution
• Culture Contact and Culture Change: Theory and Context
• Who Are the Beachboys?
• Tourism in Sri Lanka
• The Beachboys and Child Prostitution in Sri Lanka
• Conclusion

• Historical and Contemporary Accounts
• Middle-Class Accounts and Proposed Solutions
• The "It's a Job'' Perspective
• More Questions and Further Considerations

• Open-Ended Prostitution in Bangkok
• The Setting
• Understanding the Phenomenon: Prostitution as Work
• The Bar Girl as Entrepreneur
• Beguiling the Farang
• The No Face Business

• The Case of R.
• "The Edge of Ambiguity'' Revisited
• Sex Tourism and Monetary Exchange
• Sex Tourism Settings in Thailand: Massage Parlors and Bars
• Temporal Dimension
• Conclusions

• Locational Context
• The Legal Framework
• Regulation Through Health Code Enforcement
• Ethical Considerations
• Policy Recommendations
• Conclusion

• The Politics of Sex Tourism
• The Australian Crimes (Child Sex Tourism) Amendment Act 1994
• The Significance and Success of the Act
• The Politics of Reason? Lobbying, International Relations, Health, and External Affairs
• Conclusions

• Agencies and Parlors
• Economics and Demand
• Registration and Legality
• Changing Times
• Street Workers
• Conclusion

• Leisure Services Industry
• Topless Dancing as a Spectator Sport
• Manipulating Leisure Environments
• The Interview: A Case Study
• Six Elements of Place
• Conclusion

• Elements of Typicality
• Regulating Adult Play
• Performance Styles and Types
• Does the Jafari Model Explain Part of the Club Experience?

• Authenticity
• Virtual Reality
• Virtual Sex Markets
• Virtual Sex Tourism Destinations
• The Drive for Reality
• Virtual Sex and the Law
• Conclusion

• Marriage, the Family, and Concubines
• Hong Kong-Its Changing Social Norms
• Hong Kong and China: The New Economic Relationship
• Business Travel to China From Hong Kong
• Internal Migration Patterns in China
• Increasing Availability of Sexual Services in Southern China
• The Emergency of the Modern Chinese Concubine
• Effects on the Family in Hong Kong
• Action Taken by the Authorities and Wives
• Conclusion

• Economy, Tourism, and the Development Debate
• Vietnamese Tourism: An Alternative Sex Tourism Plan
• The Sex Industry in Vietnam: A Case Study of the Brothels and on the Streets of Ho Chi Minh City
• Considerations and Recommendations

• Power and Politics
• Who Benefits?
• Who Exploits Whom?
• Marriage and the Prostitution Trade
• Final Thoughts

Bibliography

1.1. Dimensions of sex tourism and prostitution

1.1. Number of local sexual partners and number of sexual contacts
1.2. Intention to engage in sex with local women
1.3. Would you call yourself a sex tourist?
1.4. Australian Thailand tourists' intentions for sexual contacts
1.5. Have you paid your sexual partner(s) with money?
1.6. Length of time with last prostitute in the destination
1.7. Intention to revisit same sex partner
1.8. Sexual practices engaged in by heterosexual male tourists
5.1. Juxtaposition of the literature
6.1. Estimated number of prostitutes in Bangkok and Thailand
10.1. Distribution of escort agencies and massage parlors in New Zealand
13.1. Top twenty ranked sites
14.1. Hong Kong divorce statistics
14.2. China's special economic zones
14.3. Trips to China through Hong Kong
14.4. Survey on attitudes of Hong Kong residents to concubines
15.1. Estimated number and qualifications of tourism employees
16.1. Type of prostitute and interaction with society