Since the start of the pandemic, Thailand has had about 20,000 confirmed cases and 77 deaths. It's not because Thailand is seeing high numbers of coronavirus cases. While revenue for underground activities is difficult to measure, a 2015 analysis by Havocscope, a research company that studies the black market, estimated the Thai sex trade to be worth $6.4 billion a year, or about 3% of the country's gross domestic product.īut now the international sex industry has come to a halt. Above: Women dance at a bar in the Patpong red-light district in Bangkok. Working in the bars of the red-light district pays more than many office jobs or other service work that the women and men in Thailand's sex industry would otherwise qualify for.
