This publication explores how gender and sexuality shape sex tourism in Costa Rica, focusing on the experiences of both male and female tourists. It examines how male tourists often seek paid sex, sometimes involving children, while female tourists tend to form emotional or romantic relationships with local men. These dynamics are analyzed through the lens of gender roles and cultural expectations. The study highlights how both types of relationships are shaped by unequal power dynamics and can reinforce gender-based exploitation, even when this does not entail monetary benefits. It can be useful to anti-trafficking practitioners by broadening understanding of how tourism can contribute to sexual exploitation involving both monetary and non-monetary exchanges.
Year of Publication: 2009
Author(s): Ellen Puccia
