We hear about its ravages on young men and women; on the gay and transgender populations; on the homeless and the intravenous drug user. We seldom think about HIV and senior citizens. Statistics also show that new AIDS cases rose faster in the over 50 population than in people under One factor contributing to this rise is sex tourism. And with Southeastern Asian countries like Thailand and the Philippines cracking down on sex tourism, this Central America nation is emerging as a new hot spot for the sex trade.
The U. On top that, the Costa Rican Tourism Board recently released tourism stats for , which showed a 3. Costa Rica welcomed some 2. ICT The expectation is another spike in travelers this year. Sexual tourists spend their days having sex in such hotels without having to step out of them. The large concentration of mongers and sex workers in a few hotels must be taken into account as part of the Costa Rican excitement. One walks into them and is struck by the number of both sex workers and clients.
It adds a sort of legitimacy to an activity that is liminal. It creates a culture that not only shares its liking for paid sex but also its life philosophy. There is a growing sense of identity. Mongers do not see anything wrong in their preferences for young women who sell sex. They are aware that most people do is not just a sexual practice anymore.
Mongers are usually middle-aged men, but others come in different types and shapes. On the contrary, many mongers report being sought by their American female counterparts and many do have sex with them. So, if they get infected in these countries, they will probably infect also their wives and partners back home. Many of these sex tourists have missed the safe sex revolution because they were in monogamous relationships back in the United States.
Some have not used a condom in years and others have never used one. Others have rekindled their sexual life thanks to the new sexual-enhancing drugs. It is not difficult to anticipate that they will face serious communication problems with women who are usually half their age and from a different culture. Despite their lack of command of the Spanish language, they want to talk and share their emotions and thoughts with others.
