Research Note: The Impact of Sex Tourism on Hotel Selection

Research Note: The Impact of Sex Tourism on Hotel Selection

The emerging trend of sex tourism has created controversial effects through its ability to provide a unique tourism experiences and attract global tourist. Apart from the positive impacts brought about by sex tourism such as increased patronage, such activities also have negative consequences, namely; safety and security concerns, social conflict, health concerns and negative perceptions about the country. However, no research has examined the impact of sex tourism activities on consumers' decision making when selecting a hotel. The purpose of this study was to establish if the existence of sex tourism in a particular country has an effect on consumers' hotel selection decisions. Questionnaires were distributed to randomly select 200 respondents in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Findings show that safety and security is the most important factor when customers choose a hotel in a country where sex tourism is promoted. Interestingly, social cultural factors (religious belief and status) and motivation factors (past experience and hotel pricing) were not significant in the process of hotel selection.