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LAST UPDATE: Thursday October 23, 2003

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Buyer Beware

The Tourism Authority of Thailand receives over 1,000 complaints a year about fake jewellery purchases. To avoid being a statistic, you must stay alert to the warning signs of a swindle at work. Heeding our warning could help you stave off unpleasent surprises and make your vacation what it should be - full of sparkle.

TAT, together with the Royal Thai Government and people of Thailand, abhor and condemn child prostitution and abuse. It is contrary to the laws of Thailand and the precepts of our Buddhist religion. However, there is no denying that it exists in Thailand as it does in other countries. Thailand, unfortunately, has perhaps received the most publicity as being a major center of child prostitution. This is due to the fact that Thailand, with its long history of democracy, has what is possibly the developing world s greatest freedom of speech and of the press, allowing both local and foreign journalists and writers unhindered access and freedom to publish accounts of the Kingdom s social problems.

This freedom has resulted in Thailand being branded as the world s leading child prostitution centre. This is simply not true. According to the US State Department s Human Rights Report, other countries rank ahead of Thailand both in terms of size of sex industry and percentage of underage prostitutes. In referring to this, we do not mean to shy from admitting Thailand s problem by pointing fingers at others, it is only to put the real situation in a proper perspective.