Philippines Ranks Third in Sex Tourism Destinations for Americans
Turns out a study shows the Philippines ranks third for American sex tourists—child trafficking crisis be damned.
by JV Ordoñez
Published on Feb 2, 2026
Against a backdrop of a worsening child-trafficking crisis in the Southeast Asian nation, a new study by Fanstats ranks the Philippines as the third most preferred country for American sex tourists.
Cambodia topped the controversial list framed as countries that are "sex-positive travel destinations" with Latvia coming in second.
Just a bit of background on why this is problematic: the Philippines sees about 100,000 children trafficked every year in a country where prostitution is illegal.
According to the study, the Philippines has 680 sex workers per 100,000 people (or about 800,000 in total), with these clandestine escort services averaging about $60 and $15 for brothel visits. Fanstats says that while prostitution is illegal in the country, the "underground sex market operates widely in Manila and other cities," with tourists "openly offered sex services despite legal prohibitions."
Fanstats' ranking of top Sex Tourism Destinations for Americans
Tourism or Trafficking?
Before we move any further, online content creation database Fanstats didn't really cite where they got these numbers and it isn't really a think tank or a credible government agency, so take their findings as you will.
The methodology described scored nearly 30 countries based on the number of sex workers, average escort prices, and brothel costs. Cambodia in comparison has about 70,000 sex workers and brothel visits costing about $5. According to the study, sex work in cities like Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville runs rampant despite being outlawed in the Southeast Asian nation.
Over in Europe, prostitution is legal in Latvia with over 800 sex workers in every sizeable town and escort services costing about $95. Sex work in this Northern European nation operates under a regulated framework that involves regular health checks and licensing.
Seven out of the top 10 countries mentioned are from Asia, where human trafficking continues to haunt nations from this region.
Taiwan, which landed on the study's fourth spot for so-called American sex tourists, would see escorts cost an average of $300, while brothels would run about $65.
Fanstats describes Asian destinations as offering these usually illegal sex services via massage parlors or online platforms rather than conventional advertisements for brothels.
Switzerland, which is usually a bucket list destination for conventional tourists, is also apparently the fifth top sex tourism destination with the same legalized and regulated sex worker system as Latvia.
However, prices are much higher than those in Asia as Swiss escorts typically charge $225 for their services, while brothels ask for about $165.
Trafficking in the Philippines: What the Numbers Left Out
It's no surprise the Philippines and Cambodia topped the list in something like sex tourism for Americans since the human trafficking and exploitation scene in these nations is quite terrible. And this study dangerously leans into dehumanizing and commodifying people as attractions for tourists.
Well, the "sex-positive" framing of all of this is out of touch for us since the term usually refers to healthy and consensual sexual practices, not glossing over coercion, trafficking, and exploitation.
And no, sex tourism isn't just an "unacknowledged segment of international travel," as a Fanstats spokesperson claimed in the study—that's a reductive take that treats access to prostitution as a tourist amenity.
Based on a 2022 study by the International Justice Mission, nearly half a million Filipino children were trafficked to produce child sexual exploitation material meant to make a quick buck on misery.
A separate 2022 study by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) showed that 20 percent of children aged 12-17 were susceptible to online sexual abuse and exploitation, with 23 percent of children staying quiet about the appalling experiences they had.
2024 numbers from the Philippine government's Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking showed 890 victims of trafficking, with 545 accounting for sex trafficking.
The 2023 Global Slavery Index showed that about 860,000 people in the Philippines were trapped in modern slavery conditions that included sex trafficking.
The Philippines has also maintained a Tier 1 status in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report, showing strong anti-trafficking efforts despite ongoing challenges.
So, the bottom line: there's much more to the story than Americans getting good deals on sex workers when they go on holiday.
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