GAY TOURISM
Thailand spurs on the inflow of the pink dollar
With an estimated LGBTQ population of 70-million, China has the world’s third-largest "pink market" after Europe and the US
Bathed in a pink spotlight, the cabaret singer at Phuket’s ZAG bar lip-syncs the top notes of a popular Mandarin love song, delighting the crowd of gay Chinese tourists who have escaped judgment at home for sexual freedom in Thailand. While the song, The Moon Represents My Heart, is a hit with the patrons, the transgender singer is just the warm-up act. "We’re waiting for the go-go boys!" says one Chinese reveller at ZAG, one of several clubs squeezed into "Paradise Complex" — the epicentre of the raucous gay nightlife scene on the party-hard island. With an estimated LGBTQ population of 70-million, China has the world’s third-largest "pink market" after Europe and the US. Yet in China being openly gay is still fraught with difficulties. Dressing a certain way or public displays of affection can draw stares and lead to family turmoil. Some Chinese parents have even brought gay children to "conversion" clinics for treatment. Homosexuality was classified as a mental illness in China u...
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