Thread: Dinly pinky winky?

At the entrance to a newly-built, 55-storey apartment block in central Bangkok, Owen, a Chinese property agent, waits to meet two new clients, Lincoln and Wonson, who flew in from Shanghai the evening before for their first ever visit to Thailand.


As a gay couple they say they want to experience the dizzying variety of LGBTQ+ entertainment in Thailand. But they have a more serious purpose. They want to raise a family, which is much harder for gay couples to do in China, and they are looking for a potential home.


Owen says Thailand is the first destination of choice for Chinese LGBTQ+ travellers, and those wanting to settle here now make up two-thirds of his clients.


"We saw a lot of gays, lesbians, and some transgender people here," Lincoln said. "So yeah, I think this is a very open country, and very free. When we got here we felt kind of liberated."


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Lincoln and Wonson say they can have a life in Bangkok that is still unimaginable in China

"I think the most important thing is the atmosphere here," Wonson added.


"The freedom, because you know it is hard for us to live in China, facing social pressure from family, from traditional culture. Maybe here we can have a life like in our imagination, which can not only fulfil our own needs, but also our children's. And here we can tell our children that we are very normal, like other people."


Such visitors will make up a growing proportion of Chinese travellers, said Gary Bowerman, whose company Check-in Asia tracks travel trends in the region.


"Three years stuck in a very safe country during the pandemic has probably changed their perceptions of safety and security, so that when you've got these rumours of scams and kidnappings, it will have an impact on people's perceptions," he added. "But one thing I would say about the younger travellers from China is that they are prepared to experiment."


And Thailand's biggest appeal, he says, is "that element of adventure and, let's say, manageable danger".