Understanding sex tourism in Italy and its impact on the country’s tourism revenue
Italy has always been known for its historical tourism and vineyards, but in recent years the country has also become known for its sex tourism. The phrase “escort Prato” has become very popular when people search for information about Italian sex tourism and for good reason. The small Italian town, along with other cities, has become a popular sex tourism destination in the southern part of Europe and when people think of Italian sex tourism, they think of attractive Mediterranean girls in all their glory.
Sex tourism has become another category of contemporary travel, on par with cultural, rural, or beach tourism. The phrase was forged to give a name to a reality: the millions of travelers who engage in paid sex in their destinations.
In our attempt to construct reality with language, we call prostitution tourism one of the five most profitable industries. Italy, as one of the European countries, known for its liberalism, has a lax policy towards prostitution. In the country, prostitution is not illegal, although unlike in Switzerland and some other European countries, it is not considered a job. With its status as neither illegal nor considered an occupation, prostitution in Italy does not receive “special legal protection” from the government. However, this “ambiguous situation” has not caused any problems for sex workers or customers. Business as usual.
In the context of prostitution tourism, experts classify this type of traveler into at least two classes: those who go to certain countries and places with the aim of having sexual relations – they have information channels based on specialization – and those who, on occasion, do so. If on a work trip, a businessman has sexual contact, is he a sexual tourist? If a woman at a tourist site works but still receives compensation from foreign tourists, is she in the sex tourism industry?
Drawing a profile is not easy. There is diversity in terms of nationality, gender, age, socio-economic status, or ethnic origin. But in this sector, there is a relevant saying: “Incidents make thieves”, of course, because sexual tourism is not considered a symptom of prostitution. However, once again the data shows us that the international prostitution market mimics the path of sexual tourism. This adds complexity when looking for a definition because in many cases, it is the people dedicated to sex tourism who travel for the purpose of sex tourism.
In Italy, there are certain cities that are synonymous with sex tourism, such as the famous Firenze. Sex tourists in the city are now facilitated with various online platforms providing escort Firenze services. They are facilitated to hire escort girls by filtering on age, ethnic background, education, hobbies, and so on. The existence of these platforms in turn opens up opportunities for many sex workers to offer sex services and for customers, they are a safe channel to get sex services anonymously.
With around fifty million people coming to Italy each year, at least ten percent of them are likely to purchase sex in the country and a tenth of fifty million is certainly a fantastic number. However controversial it may be, prostitution tourism undoubtedly contributes to the country’s income from tourism.