We really don't think traveling to any country just to visit their brothels is particularly cool, but we did learn something amazing about sex tourism this week: it's worth a lot of money.
According to some Serbian "experts," in quite-near-by Bulgaria, the semi-legalized prostitution industry (other experts say it's illegal, so we don't know who to believe) brings in €1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) a year – and that's a whopping 7.2% of the country's GDP. They don't say quite how much of that cash comes from tourists, but they sure imply that it's a lot.
These same experts are proposing that brothels get legalized in Serbia, so that the country can rake in all the profits of sex tourism. They make the case that "foreigners associated Serbia with pretty women in general," so it would be easy to promote it as a destination for, well, a bit of night-time fun. Call us prudes, but we'll stick to visiting Serbia for its retro communist supermarkets and Rocky Balboa statues.
Related Stories:
· Serbia Should Follow Bulgaria Prostitution, Sex Tourism Model [No Invite]
· Germany Cracking Down On Recession-Friendly Brothel "Flat Rates" [Jaunted]
· Sex Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: jotor] ]]>