Pattaya: Thailand’s playground for mainland Chinese

Pattaya, a city on the Gulf of Thailand some 150km (93 miles) south of the capital Bangkok, is a popular tourist destination. Despite its shady Sin City reputation, Pattaya has been drawing a growing number of Chinese mainland tourists over the past decade. Visitors on organised tours and a new breed of independent Chinese tourists have added Pattaya’s famous “ladyboy” shows as well as sun-filled day trips to neighbouring islands to their holiday to-do lists. Even last year’s ferry boat accident in Phuket, where 47 Chinese tourists died, had only a limited impact on Pattaya’s local tourism industry. Pattaya saw the number of Chinese visitors decline briefly before it was on the rise again.