Estimates of the number of prostitutes vary widely and are subject to controversy. A estimate by Dr. Nitet Tinnakul from Chulalongkorn University gives a total of 2. According to a report by the World Health Organisation : "The most reliable suggestion is that there are between , and , sex workers. Although centres such as Bangkok Patpong , Nana Plaza , and Soi Cowboy , Pattaya , and Phuket are often identified as primary tourist "prostitution" areas, with Hat Yai and other Malaysian border cities catering to Malaysians, prostitution takes place in nearly every major city and province in the country.
In Bangkok, the so-called Ratchadaphisek entertainment district, running along Ratchadaphisek Road near the Huai Khwang intersection, features several large entertainment venues which include sexual massage. Even karaoke style bars in small provincial towns have their own versions, with women, in addition to singing traditional Thai music, sometimes engaging in prostitution.
In , there are at least 5, Russian prostitutes operating in Thailand alone, many of whom arrive through networks controlled by Russian gangs. The documented history of prostitution in Thailand goes back at least six centuries, with overt and explicit references by the Chinese voyager Ma Huan and subsequently by European visitors Van Neck, ; Gisbert Heeck, and others. It is certainly not a new phenomenon, though it may have been exacerbated by the Japanese occupation during World War II and by the extensive use of Thailand as a "Rest and Recreation" facility by US forces during the Second Indochina War c.
Thailand has an ancient, continuous tradition of legal texts, generally described under the heading of Dhammasattha literature Thai pron. The era of traditional legal texts came to an end in the early 20th century, but these earlier texts were significant in regard to both the writ and spirit of modern legislation. The "Entertainment Places Act of " is one of the modern laws regulating massage parlors , go-go bars, karaoke bars, bathhouses, and similar establishments, whereby such establishments required a licence to legally operate.
The law does not expressly permit prostitution, but allows for "service providers" and "bath service providers," differentiated from regular, non-sexual service staff. For example, certain Thai massage parlors allow their male customers to choose female sex workers who are separated from the men by a glass wall known as a "fishbowl".
