Conflicting reports ..

[catawampuscat]

The current weekend (Sat./Sun.) issue of the International Herald Tribune has a front page
article about the effects of the world wide economic crisis in Thailand.
Workers have been returning to the safety of their villages and leaving as
jobs are being lost in places like Bangkok. Japanese carmaking factories slowing down, expensive hotels and restaurants needing less help etc.

The conflicting report is that many boys are leaving the villages to come to
work in the boy bars as there is no work in their home villages. I suppose time will tell and some will come and some will go as the grass is always greener on the other side. :cat:

[x in pattaya]

The conflicting report is that many boys are leaving the villages to come to
work in the boy bars as there is no work in their home villages. I suppose time will tell and some will come and some will go as the grass is always greener on the other side. :cat:

Well, as I mentioned in another thread, at least three of my more or less regular boys called to announce they would be visiting home for a couple of weeks. On the other hand I've been getting more calls from those here (and one who was calling from the family home up north) suggesting they might be able to squeeze me into their day planners if needed.

Last night en route home from the new Central Mall on the beach we stopped at Panorama for a drink or two. Fair number of people in Panorama. The waiters are apparently putting into action their campaign against alcoholism by totally ignoring flailing arms and pathetic whimpering from those of us wanting a second drink. But I digress...

Soi Boyztown was nearly desserted (or do I mean deserted) of anyone aside from barboys and food vendors. I think it may take more than free tourist visas to resuscitate local businesses.

The number of bar boys in Thailand hardly even registers a blip of the total work force. Their movements are completely insignificant when describing the movements of the work force as a whole.

[Dodger]

I'm not sure if the economic decline will result in more boys on the working scene, as historically, where there's less demand, there's less supply.

I think the recent trend you see where boys are returning home, is a direct result of some boys simply not making any money on the scene at all.

One thing is for sure. The economy (globally) is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, meaning fewer tourists, fewer offs, and probably, IMO anyway, fewer boys, as they can eat with empty pockets back on the farm.

[x in pattaya]

The number of bar boys in Thailand hardly even registers a blip of the total work force. Their movements are completely insignificant when describing the movements of the work force as a whole.


I don't think the impact of bar boys on the total work force is really an issue. It's a presumed indicator of the economic pressure on people in the rural areas. In more difficult domestic economic times, presumably more young men would choose to head to Bangkok & Pattaya to find an income to support themselves and their families and conversely when times are good locally, fewer would be willing to consider that an option.

The confounding/conflicting factor now is that the bad economic times are more than domestic or regional. Because everyone is feeling the pain, even if more boys might consider working in the bars, there aren't that many customers and those that are here are probably more tight-fisted when it comes to tipping.

So the flow, or lack thereof, of boys from the rural areas (and possibly the return to the rural areas of those who are already in Bangkok & Pattaya)is something of a barometer, possibly a leading indicator, or maybe even a lagging indicator for the broader economy and unemployment levels.

What they are talking about is factory workers -- both men and women -- losing their jobs, and returning home. It is almost an entirely different group from bar boys, most of whom wouldn't last a day in a real job.

From a customer perspective, I guess it will be worst at the bottom of the cycle, or just afterwards when a good number of bars have closed & the market's not started responding to increased demand.

[Dodger]

Having just experienced the lowest high season in many years, one would assume that we are about to witness the lowest low seaon as well as the economy continues its decline.

If the unemployed factory workers flee to the work in the sex industry, as suggested in the article that Cat referenced, I don't believe this will be anything but a short term reaction, and one which will reverse itself in short order. There simply isn't enough revenue being circulated to keep them there.

I'm also basing this on the fact that 20% of the boys working in the sex industry reep 80% of the circulating revenue. That's not an effect of the declining economy. It's just the way the dynamics of this industry have played out from the beginning. It's also commonplace in Thai culture for the fortunate boys (money makers) to contribute to the support of their less fortunate friends, e.g., pay the higherst percentage of the monthly loom rental changres, or, in some cases, pay 100% of the loom charges where several of their friends are housed, etc., etc. When the money makers (20% of the boys) start earning much less than they did before (and this is already happening), they will become tight fisted as well, leaving some boys with no other choice than to return home.

Someone made the comment that the boys wouldn't leave the scene because they haven''t ever worked in a real job, or simply wouldn't know what to do outside the sex working scene...something on that order. I agree that this may be the case for some of the boys, but not the majority. The majority of boys, <50% of them being str8, came directly off the farms to begin with and know there jobs very well. Crappy jobs as they are, they know them.

On a positive note, if there is one in this saga, Thai boys are extremely resilient and masters at survival, with the ability to hold their heads above water much longer than the average bear, thus, life will keep moving forward.

Farang bar owners...well, that's another story.

[quote="Beach Bunny":1qxhjjmw]The number of bar boys in Thailand hardly even registers a blip of the total work force. Their movements are completely insignificant when describing the movements of the work force as a whole.


I don't think the impact of bar boys on the total work force is really an issue. [/quote:1qxhjjmw]

Quite right, X, of course it's not; while BG may be correct, his comment is irrelevant and has nothing to do with either the original article or the thread - not that that would stop him making it!