Thailand's government and tourism authority Sunday vowed to clamp down on the child sex industry which is believed to involve up to 40,000 youngsters.
Cabinet minister Somsak Thepsutin told a conference of child protection activists, tourism authorities and legal experts that the government aimed to cleanse the tourism industry of "all means of child exploitation."
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Pradech Phayakvichien told the two-day forum which began Sunday that the problem was a core issue for the industry.
"The severity of the child prostitution problem and its long-term effects ... undermines the stability and economic development of the country," he said.
Pradech said about one in five of Thailand's estimated 70,000 to 200,000 prostitutes were under the age of 18, meaning there are some 14,000 to 40,000 child sex workers in the country.
"Whichever source you trust, there is a major problem to deal with," he said – BANGKOK (AFP)
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