Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp.

978–997, 2001
 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
0160-7383/01/$20.00
www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
PII: S0160-7383(01)00003-2

FEMALE TOURISTS AND BEACH BOYS

Romance or Sex Tourism?
Edward Herold
University of Guelph, Canada
Rafael Garcia
Tony DeMoya
Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Abstract: Previous studies of female tourists and beach boys in the Caribbean have defined
these relationships as involving either sex or romance tourism. The objective of this study
was to determine which of these definitions was more applicable to relationships in the
Dominican Republic. Male and female tourists as well as beach boys and female sex workers
were interviewed. Romance and sex tourism were conceptualized as the two ends of a con-
tinuum of motivations rather than as distinct categories. Although there was some gender
overlap in the continuum of romance/sex motivations, more of the female tourists were
located toward the romance end and more of the male tourists toward the sex end of the
continuum. Keywords: female tourists, beach boys, sex tourism, romance tourism.  2001
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Résumé: Les études précédents concernant les garçons de plage et les femmes touristes
dans les Antilles ont défini que ces relations ont comprise sois le tourisme de sexe ou le
tourisme d’idylle. L’objectif de cette étude était pour déterminer lequel de ces définitions
était la plus applicable aux relations dans la République Dominicaine. Les touristes homes
et femmes de même que les garçons de plage et les travailleurs de sexe femelles ont été
entrevues. Le tourisme d’idylle et le tourisme de sexe ont été conceptualisés comme les deux
fins d’un continuum de motivations plutôt que comme des categories distinctes. Bien qu’il
y avait quelque recouvrement de genre dans le continuum de motivations d’idylle/sexe,
généralement, plus de femmes touristes ont été placé vers la fin du continuum d’idylle et
plus de touristes mâles ont été placé vers la fin du continuum de sexe. Mots-clés: femmes
touristes, garcons de plage, tourisme de sexe, tourisme d’idylle.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION
The image of tourism and sex has usually been associated with male
tourists who travel to developing countries with the purpose of having
sex with prostitutes (Truong 1990). Most researchers of sex tourism
focus on the interpersonal dynamics of the relationships between tour-
ists and prostitutes, especially with regard to issues of power. The theor-

Edward Herold is Professor of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition (University of

Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1. Email <eherold@uoguelph.ca>). He has stud-
ied a diversity of topics in human sexuality. His current focus is on how social context can
influence sexual behaviors. Rafael Garcia is Professor in Medicine at the Autonomous Uni-
versity of Santo Domingo. Tony DeMoya is Researcher at the Autonomous University of
Santo Domingo.

978
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 979

etical conceptualizations have generally been guided by one of two

competing perspectives of sexuality with one group of researchers typi-
cally viewing prostitutes as sexual victims and another as empowered
sexual actors. McCormick (1994), in her analysis of feminist theories
of sexuality, labels those who focus on victimization as radical feminists
and those focusing on sexual empowerment and pleasure as liberal.
Much of the tourism literature is analyzed through the lenses of
radical feminists who have vilified male clients of prostitutes as
exploiters and deviants (O’Connell Davidson 1998). In her analysis of
the political and economic aspects of sex tourism at the societal level,
she has adapted a Marxist perspective regarding the objectification and
commodification of women’s bodies. For example, in labeling sex tour-
ism, she uses the construct of “Parasite’s Paradise” to describe the
power imbalance between sex tourists and prostitutes. In analyzing the
motivations of sex tourists, she relies heavily on Robert Steller’s identi-
fication of hostility as the main contributor to sexual arousal for men.
Ryan (1999) in his analysis of sex tourism expresses views supporting
the liberal feminist perspective of sexuality. He argues that while
exploitation can happen in sex tourism, there are many other aspects
such as the search for identity which are not adequately dealt with by
radical feminists. Most importantly, he states in his model of sex tour-
ism that relationships vary on the bases of two key dimensions:
voluntary/exploited and commercial/noncommercial. Ryan (2000) is
particularly critical of the radical feminist explanation of male hostility
as the major motivator among male tourists. Instead, he believes that
in their interactions with prostitutes, male tourists are motivated by a
wide diversity of objectives. Additionally, he argues that rather than
feeling exploited, there are many sex workers who have a sense of
power over males.
Both Ryan (1999) and Oppermann (1998) are critical of tourism
researchers for being too narrow in their definition of sex tourism
and, in particular, for ignoring female tourists. Within recent years
increasing recognition has been given to the reality that there is a sex
tourism market for female tourists. Specifically, researchers have
focused on the relationships between North American/European
female tourists who go to underdeveloped countries in the southern
hemisphere for a holiday and have sexual relations with local males
commonly referred to as beach boys. Studies of relationships between
female tourists and local males have been conducted in Jamaica (de
Albuquerque 1998; Pruitt and LaFont 1995), in Barbados (de Albu-
querque 1998; Karch and Dann 1981), in Ecuador (Meisch 1995), in
the Gambia (Brown 1992), and in Greece (Zinovieff 1991).
In their study of female tourists in Jamaica, Pruitt and LaFont (1995)
coined the term romance tourism which they used instead of sex tour-
ism. They chose this concept because based on their observations, it
appeared that both the female tourists and the local males saw their
relationship as being focused more on romance and courtship than
on sex for money. The actors were seen as being emotionally involved
with each other and desirous of a long-term relationship. The women
980 FEMALE TOURISTS

generally felt that they were truly desired and loved by men who were
fervent in their declarations of love.
On the other hand, de Albuquerque (1998) strongly disagrees with
the concept of romance tourism and based on his research in the Car-
ibbean concludes that the majority of female tourists want casual sex
rather than romance. While acknowledging that some tourists do fall
in love with local men, he believes that these cases comprise only a
small proportion of the total number of relationships. De Albuquerque
argues that although some of the tourists and beach boys may define
their relationship as one of romance, in reality, the relationship is one
of prostitution. Although, he conducted most of his research in
Jamaica and Barbados, he also made observations in other countries
of the Caribbean. Thus, he believes his conclusions are applicable to
all of the Caribbean islands. O’Connell Davidson (1998) has similar
views to those of de Albuquerque regarding female tourists and she
believes that these women are deluding themselves by imagining their
relationships to be romantic rather than sexual. She argues that they
are as exploitive as male sex tourists in that they use their greater econ-
omic power to gain access to and exploit their third world partners.
In evaluating these previous studies, it is important to note that
researchers have primarily relied on interviews with the local males but
have not usually interviewed the female tourists. According to de Albu-
querque (1998), female tourists are not likely to be cooperative about
being interviewed. However, he does not consider the possibility that
they might be more disinclined to talk to a male researcher than to a
female. Pruitt and LaFont (1995), who are females, stated that they relied
on “key informants” who seemed to include both men and women.
The main objective of this study was to analyze the types of interac-
tions occurring in the Dominican Republic between beach boys
(referred to locally as “sanky panky”) and female tourists from the per-
spectives of both the beach boys and the female tourists. It was antici-
pated that elements of both romance and sex would be found in tour-
ism relationships in the Dominican Republic, and the relationships
between female tourists and the beach boys could be arranged on a
continuum ranging from a focus on sex at one end to a focus on
romance at the other. The study was also cognizant of the possibility
that as Cohen (1982) found in his study of female prostitutes and far-
ang foreign male clients in Thailand, some of the relationships
between the female tourists and the beach boys in the Dominican
Republic might be ambiguous in nature and/or could fluctuate from
one type of relationship to another. Given de Albuquerque’s con-
clusion that there are basically no differences in the type of relation-
ship that female tourists had as compared with those of male tourists,
the secondary objective was to determine whether there were gender
differences in how tourists interacted with the local population.

TOURIST RELATIONSHIPS
The samples for this study were obtained at Puerto Plata, a beach
resort on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Data from the
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 981

beach boys were collected through interviews with 25 males and a focus
group involving 11 men. The interviews and the focus group were con-
ducted by one of the Spanish speaking male researchers from the
Dominican Republic. The survey included 21 female sex workers inter-
viewed by a Spanish speaking Dominican female and 14 female and
16 male tourists from Canada interviewed at hotels and bars by a Can-
adian female research assistant. The interviews and focus groups were
tape recorded and transcribed. The data from the Dominicans were
first transcribed into Spanish and then translated into English.
To obtain more complete insight into sex tourism, it was essential
to interview both female and male tourists as well as female and male
sex workers. Unlike de Albuquerque (1998), who suggested that
female tourists would be unwilling to cooperate in this kind of study,
this study did not have difficulty interviewing them and only two ref-
used to be interviewed. However, an important factor in obtaining the
cooperation of the women was that the interviewer was female. In fact,
12 of the 14 females interviewed said they preferred having a female
rather than a male interviewer and only two said that gender of the
interviewer did not matter. When the male tourists were asked their
opinions about the gender of the interviewer, 10 of the 16 said that
gender did not matter to them, five said the interviewer should be a
woman, and only one said it should be a man. It should be noted,
however, that as the men were being interviewed by a woman at the
time, their responses may have been biased.
Given that the main research interest of this study was focused on
the beach boys, their interviews were more detailed than those with
the other groups. For the purposes of comparison, the focus was on
some of the same kinds of relationship topics as treated by previous
researchers. However, the research was expanded to obtain specific
data on the sexual interaction of the participants including safer sex
practices. Research questions were organized under the categories of
characteristics of the beach boys and female sex workers, motivations
for involvement, selecting the target, seduction, sex, obtaining pay-
ment, and longer term relationships.
Grounded theory methods (Strauss 1987) were used to analyze data
from the focus groups and the interviews. Following the suggestions
of Strauss, the emerging ideas were organized into themes. These
themes were first organized by the researcher who was not from the
Dominican Republic and then verified with the two Dominican
researchers. In this particular study, the researchers were involved with
the participants for a relatively short time period. However, it should
be noted that the Dominican researchers who conducted the inter-
views with the beach boys have had extensive previous research involve-
ment spanning several years with both male and female sex workers
in the Dominican Republic. Because of their having previously estab-
lished rapport with sex workers, the Dominican researchers found it
quite easy to recruit participants for this research. The previous
research experience of the authors also provided a comparative basis
for determining the truthfulness of the respondents.
Given that the study is relatively small scale in nature, the objective
982 FEMALE TOURISTS

was not to conclusively bring forth large-scale generalizations. Instead

the intent was to use the resulting descriptive data as a means to ident-
ify issues, concerns, and potential trends. The authors were especially
interested in exploring the diverse motives given by both the tourists
and the sex workers for their interaction with each other. The underly-
ing concern related to the sexual health issues, given the possibility of
STD/HIV transmission between the sex workers and the tourists.

Characteristics of Beach Boys and Female Sex Workers

The beach boys are usually young and physically in good shape. In
this study, they ranged in age from 17 to 25. The sample indicated
that there are very few beach boys older than 25. The more successful
beach boys have the ability to learn other languages easily and carry
out a reasonable conversation in four or five different languages. This
is very important in terms of making contact with tourists from differ-
ent countries. Many of the beach boys have jobs which bring them into
contact with tourists, such as tour guide, renting of beach or sports
equipment, restaurant waiter or bartender, and selling lottery tickets
or timeshares for condominiums. These jobs provide a legitimate
excuse for approaching female tourists and make it easy to initiate
social contact with them.
All of the beach boys in the Dominican Republic are Black. They
believe that this is an added attraction for the tourists in that having
a different color of skin adds to the exotic nature of the experience.
One commented, “most of the women have never been with a Black
man before. That seems to make it more exciting for them.” Another
added, “Quebec women think we are better at sex.” In the 70s and 80s
beach boys were having sex mainly with men for money. However, the
beach boys indicated that fewer of them were having sex with men for
money because there had been such an increase in the number of
women in the 90s who were willing to give money. There was consider-
ably more stigma involved for beach boys who provided sex for money
to male tourists. Further, they received less money from male tourists
than from female tourists.
The female sex workers were about the same age as the beach boys.
Unlike the beach boys, a few of the females had worked as sex workers
in other countries. Whereas most of the beach boys had other jobs,
the female sex workers did not have other kinds of employment and
thus they were totally dependent upon this work as their only source
of income. The female sex workers were not as versatile in their langu-
age skills as were the beach boys. About one-half said they could under-
stand some English and a few said they could understand a little
French. For the most part, they relied on nonverbal communication
when interacting with male tourists. Because of the prevalence of the
sexual double standard in the Dominican Republic, the female sex
workers were stigmatized far more than were the beach boys by the
local population. Thus, whereas most of the beach boys came from the
local area, almost all of the female sex workers came from other parts
of the Dominican Republic. The beach boys were not embarrassed
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 983

about letting their families know about their work, whereas most of
the female sex workers tried to keep this information secret from their
families back home. Because of stigmatization, the female sex workers
preferred not to be seen in public with their clients. On the other
hand, the beach boys felt comfortable being seen with female tourists
in almost any setting.
Almost all of the female sex workers also had clients from the local
population whom they charged considerably less than they did the
male tourists. The beach boys only received money from female tour-
ists. Most were also involved in sexual relationships with local women
and some had common-law relationships. Far fewer of the female sex
workers had regular boyfriends who did not pay for sex.

Motivations for Involvement

For some beach boys, particularly the younger ones, the sexual con-
quest of tourists is a major objective. Nevertheless, both in this research
as well as in previous studies, one of the main motivations given by
the professional beach boys for their involvement with female tourists
is economic. This could involve such short term material goals as
obtaining free meals and entertainment, being able to drive a current
model rental car and purchasing new clothes or jewelry. On an inter-
mediate level, it could involve obtaining money for transportation such
as a motorcycle or to start a small business. On a longer term level, it
could include trips to North America or Europe or being sponsored
through marriage to live and work in either of those geographic areas.
The main reasons reported in previous research for the involvement
of female tourists with the local men have been either the search for
a romantic love relationship (Pruitt and LaFont 1995) or sexual excite-
ment and novelty (de Albuquerque 1998). The latter study categorized
female sex tourists into four different types: the first timers or neo-
phytes, the situational sex tourists who will have sex with beach boys
but do not travel specifically with that intention, the veterans whose
objective is to engage in anonymous sex, and the returnee who has
established an ongoing relationship. Unlike de Albuquerque, the
present study of both beach boys and female tourists found that many
of the women preferred a romantic relationship which may include
sex, with only a minority indicating that sex was their main objective
in establishing a relationship. It should be noted that in this study,
both the tourists and the beach boys themselves reported that most
female tourists do not become intimate with a beach boy.
This study suggests the need to take into account prior expectations
when developing tourist categories. Most first-time female tourists do
not anticipate ahead of time that they might become involved with a
local male. Of those who do become involved, most view their relation-
ship as romantic rather than sexual. This group was labeled “first time
romantic tourists”. The minority of them who anticipated involvement
and who focused on the sexual aspects were labeled “first time sex
tourists”. Generally, these women have heard about the experiences
of other female tourists who have been to the Dominican Republic, in
984 FEMALE TOURISTS

particular about the sexual prowess of the local men. Of those who
have been to the Dominican Republic before and who had a romantic
relationship with a local man, many return because they wish to main-
tain this love relationship. This group was labeled “romantic retur-
nees”. However, a minority do return with the objective of maximizing
their sexual pleasure. Most of these women wish to have sex with one
partner with whom they wish to spend most of their time; a group
labeled “committed sex tourists”. Some prefer to have casual sex with
a number of partners, and were labeled “adventurer sex tourists”. One
beach boy talked about a tourist from Germany who had bragged to
him about having had sex with 18 men over a 14 day period. Another
gave the example of meeting two women from Toronto. Later in the
evening when he and a friend suggested going to different rooms to
make love, the women insisted that they stay in the same room and
that they exchange partners. Clearly, some women come fully prepared
for sexual adventure and exotic sexual experiences.
Ethnicity played a major role in whether or not the tourists had
anticipated becoming sexually involved with a local person. More of
the French male and female tourists from Quebec than of the English
tourists from Ontario reported they had anticipated this ahead of time.
The ethnic differences in anticipation were greater for the female than
for the male tourists. One female tourist stated, “I found the idea of
having sex with a local person to be appealing because I wanted ‘some-
thing different’ while on vacation”. The women who were sexually mot-
ivated were more likely than the men to comment on the sexual skills
of the Dominican men. One stated, “I had heard from a friend that
the local people were ‘fantastic’ lovers”.
Contrary to the female tourists in the Dominican Republic, most of
the male tourists who became sexually involved with local women had
casual sexual relationships, typically lasting for one hour or an evening
at most. Unlike the female tourists, most of the men did not engage
in other kinds of tourism activities such as sightseeing with their sexual
partners. Although a few men developed a long term love relationship,
most were not interested in this.
The motivations of the female sex workers were exclusively to make
money. Unlike the beach boys, they did not derive status from having
relationships with tourists. Most did not anticipate that they would be
able to marry a tourist and immigrate to a higher standard of living.
As well, the fact that few could speak English made it very difficult to
develop any kind of longer term relationship.

Selecting the Target

Which female tourists are pursued depends on the motivations of
the beach boy. If he is only desirous of sexual conquest, his preference
will be for a young attractive, preferably blond woman. Generally, these
women are unlikely to provide money. Among the beach boys who are
mainly concerned about making money, their main target groups are
women who are either older (past the age of forty), or younger women
who are overweight. In selecting these women, the beach boys are con-
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 985

scious of playing on female vulnerability. Many of these women are

vulnerable because they may not be used to having males pay romantic
attention to them and this can be a new experience or an experience
that they have not had in a long time. According to the beach boys,
these vulnerable women fall in love more readily and usually are more
open about their financial situation. Thus, they are likely to provide
more money than do other women. Another reason given by the men
for choosing overweight women is their belief that they have had few
sexual partners because North American males prefer thin women.
Thus, the beach boys have less fear of contracting a sexually trans-
mitted disease from women who are overweight. The men also
reported that overweight women or those who are older are less embar-
rassed about being seen with beach boys by other tourists. In contrast,
more of the younger, attractive women seem to be self-conscious about
being seen with the beach boys.
As found in previous research in the Caribbean (de Albuquerque
1998) beach boys in the Dominican Republic reported significant
nationality differences with the French Canadian women being the eas-
iest to meet and also the most liberated in terms of sexual values and
sexual practices. The English Canadians were reported to be the next
easiest to meet, followed by the Italians. American women were gener-
ally more difficult to meet and seen as more prejudiced against having
sex with Black males. In deciding whom to approach, there are certain
cues or signals which the beach boys look for. For example, they are
more likely to approach a woman who is out in the sun rather than
one who is in the shade reading a book. They believe that the woman
who is in the sun is more adventurous and more liberal in her sexual
values, whereas those in the shade reading are signalling that they do
not want to be bothered. Another cue used in selecting women is based
on how much of a suntan they have. If a woman is pale and does not
yet have a suntan she is more likely to be approached because she has
probably just arrived in the country, whereas one with a tan has likely
been on the island for a while and is likely to leave soon.
The female sex workers, in approaching potential clients, do not
make the same kinds of differentiations as do the beach boys. They
are not as concerned about selective criteria because they usually have
a fixed price and if a particular male is not willing to pay that price,
they quickly move to the next potential male client. Because they are
upfront about their fee, they are not worried about wasting a lot of
time on someone who is not willing to pay for their services.

The Seduction Process

Although in some cases, the tourist makes the first approach, it is
usually the beach boys who initiate the relationship. When approach-
ing the tourist, the men smile a lot and try to maintain eye contact.
The beach boys usually meet women in public settings such as the
beach or a disco. Some also approach tourists on the streets where
they will offer their services as tourist guides and provide information
on where to go shopping and which attractions are worth visiting. If
986 FEMALE TOURISTS

they meet the woman during the day while she is at the beach, they
will usually suggest that she should go to a certain disco that evening
where the beach boy will be present. Typically, they approach women
in a manner which is friendly and non-threatening. This will vary
according to different beach boys, but the ones who are more success-
ful are those who use a subtle rather than an aggressive approach. This
means, for example, not bringing up any indication of desire for sex
when first meeting. In approaching them, there is no suggestion made
regarding a fee for their services. Rather the beach boys present them-
selves as well mannered, friendly, attractive men who know their way
around and can provide the woman with a good time. The tourist is
thus given the impression that the beach boy is a trustworthy person
who cares about her well-being.
Flattery is one of the main seduction strategies. When he feels it is
appropriate, the beach boy will use various forms of flattery to heighten
interest. For example, he may make flattering comments about the
woman’s appearance or dress and incorporate these comments into a
“romantic” kind of approach. One beach boy said “I always give a
flower to the woman when I first begin to talk to her”. Even before
they begin to approach the woman, beach boys have a number of stra-
tegies to get noticed by the female tourists. A typical strategy is to show
off their prowess in some activity such as beach volleyball or water
skiing. Another tactic used to increase their appeal is for the beach
boy to be first seen with a younger, attractive woman. Later, he will
approach the older woman and say that he really prefers her instead
of the younger woman because he finds mature women to be more
appealing.
When the tourist arrives at the disco, she will observe the beach boy
displaying his dancing skills. This makes it easy for the beach boy to
ask the woman to dance because he can offer to be her dancing
instructor. It also provides him with the opportunity of flattering the
woman when teaching her the dance routines. Most importantly, there
is the opportunity for increased physical contact with the woman while
on the dance floor. Popular dance music in the Dominican Republic
such as the Meringue promotes close dancing and provides an ideal
situation for the beach boy to begin the transition from being a friend
to becoming a potential lover. The Meringue makes it very easy for
the beach boy to initiate body touching. The lively music and dancing
combined with drinks which have a high alcoholic content help to
lower the tourist’s inhibitions. Some of the beach boys specifically
noted that encouraging the tourist to try the local drinks was an
important step in the seduction process. Another aspect is the develop-
ment of the tourist’s dependence on the beach boy to show her a good
time as illustrated by his skilfulness in teaching her the complicated
steps of the Meringue. A reverse seduction strategy used by the more
experienced beach boys involves playing hard to get, especially if they
perceive that the woman has an initial interest in them. In particular,
French Canadian women from Quebec are more likely to take the
initiative and indicate an interest in the beach boy. In such a situation,
a beach boy may play hard to get believing that the financial reward
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 987

will even be greater rather than if he were to immediately reciprocate

an interest in her.
In the overall seduction scheme, the men aim to provide a total
relationship involving a diversity of experiences such as sightseeing,
going dancing, going to restaurants, etc. If a relationship develops,
most of the beach boys prefer to be with the same woman during the
entire time she is on her vacation. The professional beach boys do not
consider it proper to exploit women through engaging in “one night
stands”. Of course, another factor is that he is more likely to receive
a monetary or gift reward if he remains with one woman. In selecting
things to do, the beach boy usually takes the woman to places where
he is well known. The woman quickly notices that he is very popular
and this adds to his appeal. The beach boys continually attempt to
refine their seduction skills. They often compare their different tech-
niques of seduction with other beach boys and provide each other with
specific examples of how to go about this process. The younger beach
boys look up to the older ones for words of wisdom about seduction.
This peer group interaction is similar to that of Greek males in Plat-
anos who are referred to as kamakia (Zinovieff 1991). A major differ-
ence between the beach boys and the kamakia, however, is that the
former do not denigrate female tourists in the same way as do the
kamakia. One of the reasons for this may be the fact that the beach
boys spend more time with their partners than do the kamakia and
thus are more likely to form an emotional attachment. This is influ-
enced by the fact that tourists do not spend as much time in Platanos
as tourists spend in the Dominican Republic. Further, the beach boys
do not engage in the same level of deceitfulness as do the kamakia.
For example, the kamakia will often lie to the tourist about their occu-
pational status. Among the kamakia, male bonding is at the core of
their relationships with tourists. In contrast, the depth of the relation-
ships among the beach boys is not as intense.
Female sex workers also make their initial contacts with male tourists
in a diversity of locations including restaurants, bars, and brothels.
However, first contact is usually made at a disco. On the streets, initial
contact is frequently made by pimps who approach the tourist and ask
directly if he is interested in meeting a woman. If the tourist shows
some interest, the pimp will invite the man to go with him to a specific
brothel. Approaches are not made at the hotel resorts because usually
female sex workers and pimps are not allowed there. Male tourists are
usually not approached at the beach. Unlike the subtle approach used
by the beach boys, female sex workers are more clearly focused on
sexual imagery. Almost all of the women wear sexy clothes to attract
the man’s attention. At the disco, they may at first smile and stare at
the man. Next, they might make a flirtatious approach and ask the
man if he would like some company. Sex workers who make their
approaches on the streets tend to be more blatant, as by suggesting
specific sexual behaviors. Although the women who make their
approach at the disco may not be as blatant, if the man seems inter-
ested in them, they will, within a short while, suggest sex for a specific
fee. Focusing on sex for money soon after making contact with the
988 FEMALE TOURISTS

male tourist is dramatically different from the approach used by the

beach boys. Because of the limited language skills of most of the female
sex workers, it is very difficult for them to establish any kind of relation-
ship with the male tourist other than a sexual one. Another factor
differentiating the female sex workers from the beach boys is that some
of the women will also have local men as clients.
Almost all of the unattached tourists in the Dominican Republic
reported that they had been approached by local persons. The female
tourists indicated that most of the local men who had approached
them seemed friendly and helpful. While some felt that the men were
somewhat “pushy” about wanting to get to know them, others appreci-
ated the attention. The women reported that the two main seduction
strategies used by the men were flattery and inviting them to dance
the Meringue. Unlike the male tourists who reported that most of the
local women only spoke Spanish, the female tourists reported that most
of the local men who approached them could carry out a reasonably
good conversation in the tourist’s own language. Generally, the male
tourists felt that the local women were friendly. A typical comment
was “the women here are really nice”. However, most of those who
experienced being approached in a very explicit manner reported that
they found this type of approach to be disgusting rather than appeal-
ing.

Sexual Relationships
The beach boys believe that most female tourists who are not with
a man while on vacation would be interested in having sexual relations
with local men. They also believe that most foreign women perceive
the local men as sexually skilful and uninhibited. Yet they are realistic
in being aware that many of these tourists do not actually engage in
sex with local men. When the beach boys were asked about the last 10
female tourists they had approached, they reported that on average,
five did spend some time with them and that two or three resulted in
sexual intercourse. The beach boys reported having had sexual inter-
course with about 10 female tourists per year which meant that the
typical beach boy had engaged in sex with about 20 tourists. A few had
sexual relationships with more than a hundred tourists. About one-
half said they had experienced sex with at least one tourist who was
married at the time. When asked how soon they had sexual intercourse
after meeting their last sexual partner, about one-third said it hap-
pened the same day, one-third said it happened within two or three
days, and the final third said it happened four or more days later.
De Albuquerque (1998) concluded that female tourists were sexually
attracted to beach boys mainly because of the racial stereotype regard-
ing penis size. However, the beach boys in this study believed that their
main attraction was their sexual expertise and that penis size was of
major interest to only a minority of the tourists. The beach boys in
the Dominican Republic pride themselves on their sexual prowess and
attempt to provide the woman with the “best sex” she has ever had.
They want the sexual encounters to be a truly memorable experience
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 989

for the tourists. Consequently, the beach boys focus more on sexually
pleasing the tourist than on pleasing themselves. For example, they
may perform all night with the goal of giving the woman several
orgasms. The men are very open to providing whatever kind of sexual
experience the woman wants. The beach boys especially emphasized
their prowess with regard to providing oral-genital sex and their ability
to engage in sexual intercourse repeatedly the same evening. This is
contrary to de Albuquerque (1998) who reported that beach boys in
the Caribbean are aversive to performing oral sex and are mainly con-
cerned with their own sexual pleasure. The beach boys in this study
commented that often the women told them that they have never had
such enjoyable sex in their lives and that their boyfriends and/or hus-
bands were unwilling to provide them with that kind of sexual experi-
ence. The beach boys view providing pleasurable sexual experiences
as another means of encouraging the women to fall in love with them.
It should be noted that when they are involved with the female tourists,
the beach boys are unlikely to be also sexually involved with local
women, as they wish to save their sexual energies for the tourists.
The beach boys spend a considerable amount of time among them-
selves discussing the sexual attributes of the tourists as well as bragging
about their own sexual skills. For example, they reported that they
enjoy sex more with women who are obese because they believe that
these women have not had much sexual experience and thus have
tighter vaginas to provide more pleasure to the male. When the men
have sexual encounters with women whom they find sexually unattrac-
tive, they use different strategies for trying to block out the women’s
perceived unattractiveness. One strategy involves not looking at the
woman’s face while they are having sexual relations but rather focusing
on other parts of her body or perhaps not looking at her at all and
fantasizing about someone else. Another strategy is to drink a fair
amount of alcohol ahead of time.
The men commented that tourists who are adventurers are very dif-
ferent in their sexual practices and expectations from other women
including Dominicans. These women are very uninhibited. They are
more likely to take the initiative with regard to sexual advances and
they suggest a diversity of sexual activities. They typically urge the male
to be more sexually assertive with them and are more responsive dur-
ing sex. One beach boy gave this example of a situation where he was
in a hotel room with a woman, “She was screaming so loudly at orgasm
that the hotel watchman knocked on the door believing that I was
hurting her”.
The beach boys have mixed feelings about condoms. Most say they
do not like using condoms because it reduces their sexual pleasure.
With women who are overweight, they will rationalize non-use of con-
doms believing that these women are unlikely to have an STD because
they have not had much sexual experience. There is also the belief
among the men that if a woman is overweight this indicates she is in
a healthy condition and not infected with an STD. Indeed, because
they feel so confident that they can judge whether a woman has an
AIDS or STD infection by her appearance alone, many believe it is not
990 FEMALE TOURISTS

necessary for them to use a condom. Most of the female tourists will
insist that the man wear a condom. Typically, a condom is used when
the couple first has intercourse but is discontinued after they have had
intercourse a few times. Only about a third of the beach boys reported
that they used a condom every time they had sexual intercourse with
a tourist. Some of the men commented on the frequent breakage of
condoms and this might be attributed to their lack of knowledge of
how to properly use condoms. While they mostly focused on
developing a relationship with the women who will provide money,
sometimes they may desire to have sex with younger attractive tourists
especially if they are blond. Having this type of relationship enhances
their reputation among their peers as good lovers who can attract such
desirable women.
Similar to the beach boys, the female sex workers believe that most
male tourists who are not with a female companion desire sex with
local women, and the female sex workers in the sample thought that
about one-half would have sex, with most having sex with more than
one local woman. The woman reported that most of the time they
made the initial approach to the male tourist and that about one-half
of the men accepted their approaches. Almost all of the sexual
relations with male tourists involved vaginal intercourse.
Almost all of the female sex workers, in contrast to the beach boys,
reported that they used condoms every time they had sexual inter-
course with a male tourist. However, because of the extensive condom
promotion campaigns to which they had been exposed, it could be
that at least some of the women may have felt pressure to give a socially
desirable response regarding their condom use. Unlike the beach boys,
none of the local women reported that they did not want to use con-
doms. However, they also reported that most of their Dominican cli-
ents were unwilling to wear condoms and thus with most of the local
male clients, especially those who were regular customers, condoms
were seldom, if ever, used.
Seven of the 14 female tourists interviewed reported they had
become sexually involved with local men. Four said that they had fallen
in love with a local man and that the man had fallen in love with them.
The women who became sexually involved reported that they spent
most of their time with their lover engaging in different social activities.
However, only four of the 16 men interviewed admitted having sex
with a female sex worker. The tourists were not asked details regarding
their sexual experiences with the local population. However, they were
asked about condoms. Most of the tourists said they had brought con-
doms with them to the Dominican Republic. The female tourists who
had sex with local men reported that they used condoms every time
they had sexual intercourse. However, this is contrary to what was
reported by the beach boys, thus suggesting this topic may be con-
founded by socially desirable responses.
Obtaining Payment
With regard to seeking payment, the beach boys reported that they
never directly ask for a specific sum of money as do female prostitutes.
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 991

They would never ask for money when first meeting the tourist. Rather
they use different strategies to indicate their lack of money to pay for
drinks, admission to discos, or taxi transportation. Some may even
offer to pay for drinks but do so in such a manner that the women
feels obligated to pay. For example, the man may reach for his wallet
and then suddenly indicate that he does not have much money. In
these kinds of situations, the woman will often give the man money
under the table, so that it appears as if he in fact were paying for the
expenses. An important aspect of the woman’s paying for the expenses
is that a power role reversal occurs in that she does not feel obligated
to him but rather is more likely to feel that she is in control of the
situation. Consequently, the woman feels less pressure to become sex-
ually involved.
The males play up their financial situation in different ways, such as
indicating that they are poor or they may suggest that they have family
responsibilities for a sick relative or that they hope to continue their
education or that they would like to start a small business but need
money to do these things. Another strategy is to look sad and not to
talk. This throws the woman off guard because until that point the
beach boy has been very friendly, smiling all the time, and very talk-
ative. The woman now quickly picks up the message that something is
very wrong as he “reluctantly” admits to having money problems.
Again, he does not come out directly and say, “Can you give me money
for this or that”? Rather he waits for her to suggest that she could
provide some assistance. Such stories are told later in the relationship
when the woman is more emotionally involved with the man and thus
more sympathetic to his suggested need for money. A similar strategy
was used by female sex workers in Thailand in situations where the
client became emotionally attached (Cohen 1982). Rather than
directly asking for more money in exchange for sexual services, the
sex worker might make up a fictitious story about a financial problem
facing her or her family.
The beach boys believe that the older the woman and/or the more
unattractive she is, the more money she will give. Similarly, in Greece
among the kamakia, Zinovieff (1991) noted that local men who were
gigolos were paid for their service by older women. When a beach
boy is seen with a woman who is much older, his peers assume that
he will be receiving a considerable sum of money. It should be noted
that not all female tourists provide money at the end of their visit.
In some cases, the men only receive free meals and drinks. Generally,
the men reported receiving from between $100 to $500 from each
woman, although some received more. Some of the women also buy
gifts such as a motorcycle or expensive clothes. Some of the beach
boys are very successful financially and earn incomes substantially
greater than that of the typical male in the Dominican Republic. For
example, some reported making about $1,000 a month or more. In
comparison, the average wage for a worker in the Dominican Repub-
lic is $60 a month.
The professional beach boys would seldom, if ever, rob their female
companions. They indicated that those males who do engage in rob-
992 FEMALE TOURISTS

bery are not likely to be professional beach boys. In fact, they believe
that it is against their own interests to engage in robbery. Furthermore,
they will warn the female tourists about the need to protect themselves
against the possibility of robbery such as if they leave their purse on
a chair in the disco or if they walk alone down dark streets at night.
The beach boys are also concerned that if the woman is robbed while
she is with him, the police might think that he was involved in the rob-
bery.
The indirect approach used by the beach boys to obtain any kind
of material payment differs from the direct approach used by the
female sex workers who inform the male tourist before they have sex
how much it will cost. The female sex workers usually earn more
money from tourists than do the beach boys. However, there are a
few beach boys who become involved with very wealthy women and
subsequently earn far more than do most female sex workers.
The female tourists in this study who were sexually involved with
beach boys reported that they had not been asked for money. However,
they were not at the end of their vacation, so it may be that their
response might have been different when departing the island. Never-
theless, all of the women who were involved in relationships admitted
they paid for expenses such as meals and drinks and provided some
gifts, especially clothes. It should be noted that the issue of payment
to the beach boys may be threatening to many female tourists as it
may raise doubts about the type of relationship they are having. Male
tourists, on the other hand, tend to be realistic about the nature of
their relationship with the local sex workers. However, given that there
is a stigma regarding paying for sex, it is possible that some male tour-
ists may not admit to having sex with local women because this might
imply that they had to pay for sex.

Longer Term Relationships

All of the beach boys had one or more friends who had migrated
to other countries assisted by female tourist lovers. Each year many of
these former beach boys returned for a visit to the Dominican Repub-
lic. Their success and demonstration of wealth provided a role model
for other beach boys who wish to immigrate out of poverty. Many of
the beach boys hope that a tourist will want to marry them so that they
can immigrate to Canada or to a European country. Sometimes, the
romantic relationship is maintained after the tourist leaves the island
and the woman will write letters and include money for the man. Some
women provide airplane tickets so that the men can come and visit
them in their home cities such as Toronto or Montreal. One of the
major benefits of working as beach boys is the opportunity for foreign
travel that few other occupations can provide. These kinds of examples
are not unique to the Dominican Republic. Comparable situations
have been reported by Cohen (1971) regarding Arab boys and tourist
girls in Israel and among Greek males and female tourists from north-
ern Europe (Zinovieff 1991).
In comparison with the beach boys, few of the female sex workers
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 993

maintained ongoing relationships with male tourists such as

through letters or return visits. Further, few received either invi-
tations to travel to the tourist’s home country or marriage proposals.
Nevertheless, occasionally, a male tourist does fall in love with a
local woman and develops an ongoing relationship that might lead
to marriage.

CONCLUSION
To better understand the nature of the relationships between tour-
ists and the local population in the Dominican Republic, some key
cultural differences between this country and those of other coun-
tries in the Caribbean need to be understood. First, the Dominican
Republic has a Spanish cultural heritage and relatively few people
can speak the languages of the tourists. Most other islands of the
Caribbean are English speaking which makes communication easier
between the local population and the tourists. Second, unlike most
other islands of the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic has for sev-
eral years had wide scale prostitution. Until recently, this was ori-
ented completely to male tourists who could easily find sex workers
who would cater to either heterosexual or homosexual desires. Male
sex workers dealt almost exclusively with male tourists. However, with
an increase in the number of female arrivals to the Dominican
Republic, there has been an accompanying increase in the number
of local men willing to provide their services to women in return for
some form of monetary payment.
Whereas the study found major differences between female sex
workers and beach boys, de Albuquerque (1998) reported that there
were few differences. In comparing the findings reported here, how-
ever, it is important to note that the perspective of the tourists is
included, whereas he omitted this. Indeed, de Albuquerque asserted
that tourists would be unwilling to be interviewed regarding their sex-
ual relationships with the local population. This study found otherwise.
Another major difference was regarding the sexual attitudes of the
beach boys. According to de Albuquerque, those in Barbados were
focused mainly on their own sexual needs and wanted to control how
and when sex would occur. On the contrary, the beach boys in this
case emphasized how they wanted to sexually please the female tourist
by engaging in sexual activities which she enjoyed. Unlike in Barbados
where the men were aversive to performing oral sex, the Dominican
males were proud of their expertise in doing so. Further, in the Domin-
ican Republic the timing of when sexual relations first occurred was
determined more by the woman’s wishes than the beach boys. This
suggests that an important part of the seduction process by the Domin-
ican males is being sensitive to the woman’s needs.
De Albuquerque (1998), unlike Pruitt and LaFont (1995), discounts
the possibility that many of the relationships between the female tour-
ists and the beach boys could evolve into a love relationship. He also
argues that the great majority of female tourists are motivated mainly
by sexual reasons to become involved with beach boys. However, his
994 FEMALE TOURISTS

findings are questionable considering that he did not actually interview

the female tourists. In the Dominican Republic, as reported by both
the beach boys and the female tourists, there are considerable differ-
ences among women regarding their motivations. Many do not antici-
pate ahead of time that they might have sex with a local person. Inter-
estingly, O’Connell Davidson (1996), in her study of male sex tourists
in Cuba, reported that many of the men did not specifically travel
there to engage in sex with local women but engaged in sex when
they discovered that the opportunity was available. In the Dominican
Republic, the present study found that many of the female tourists wait
until they believe that they have established a romantic relationship
with the man before engaging in sex. Some women, especially those
from French Canada, come with a sexual aim in mind, but they are
not representative of the majority of women. If, as de Albuquerque
argues, the majority of female tourists are looking for casual sex with-
out any kind of emotional involvement, then how does he explain the
fact that most of the tourists only have sex with one man while they
are on vacation and typically state that they are in love with him?
Further, de Albuquerque states that there basically are no differences
in the approach strategies used by male and female workers. Yet this
study found several differences, in particular that the female sex work-
ers, unlike the beach boys, are far more assertive about their require-
ment for money before they will engage in sex. Similarly, Cohen
(1982) found that female sex workers in Thailand, even those who
were interested in longer term relationships, were upfront about their
expectations about receiving monetary payment. This mercenary
aspect was also clearly understood by the male tourists there. However,
unlike in the Dominican Republic, many of the sex workers in Thai-
land suggested to their clients that the amount of payment would be
left to their discretion.
What are the implications of the present study for understanding
the concept of sex tourism? According to de Albuquerque (1998),
the relationships between female tourists and beach boys represent
sex tourism, in particular, money for sex. Furthermore, he believes
that there is no difference between the sex tourism experienced by
female tourists and that experienced by male tourists. He is thus very
critical of the concept of romance tourism espoused by Pruitt and
LaFont (1995). The study reported here suggests that the situation
is more complex than that presented by either de Albuquerque
(1998) or Pruitt and LaFont (1995) which leads one to conclude that
it is too simplistic to define relationships between female tourists and
beach boys as strictly either sex or romance tourism. Rather, it
should be recognized that the motivations for tourist involvement
with the local men vary considerably. In some cases, they are focused
mainly on romance and in others mainly on sex. On the other hand,
both love and sex may be emphasized equally. Yet among other tour-
ists, the focus is on companionship and neither love nor sex may
enter the picture. This suggests the possibility of a new concept,
namely companionship tourism.
Suggesting a continuum of romance/sex motivations that can be
 HEROLD, GARCIA AND DEMOYA 995

applied to both male and female tourists does not mean that there are
no gender differences in this regard. Certainly studies such as this and
Cohen’s (1982) on Thai women and Farong men indicate that one
cannot place all male tourists into one category and all females into
another. There is obviously some degree of overlap between the gen-
ders. Nevertheless, this research indicates that there are proportional
gender differences with more of the women being motivated toward
the romance end of the tourism continuum and more of the men
motivated toward the sex part of it. This finding is consistent with stud-
ies of wider gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors with
men reporting more favorable attitudes to casual sex and more sex
partners than women and women reporting that they prefer to have
sex within the context of a love relationship (Laumann, Gagnon,
Michael and Michaels 1994).
Both the beach boys and the female tourists of this study indicate
that ethnicity is an important variable to consider when studying the
sexuality of female tourists. Here the findings support both those of
de Albuquerque (1998) and Karch and Dann (1981) who reported
that female tourists from French Canada were more sexually forward
in their relationships with beach boys than were other women. Further
evidence of this ethnic difference is reported in a review of sexuality
research in Canada (Barrett, King, Levy and Maticka-Tyndale 1997)
which looked at the impact of age, economic status, and education
on sexual attitudes and behaviors. According to this review, French
Canadians are more permissive than their English counterparts with
regard to casual sex, extra-marital relationships, and the acceptance
of prostitution. These findings provide strong evidence that French
Canadian women are more likely to be sexually permissive in their
relationships with beach boys than are women from other ethnic
groups.
Given the objectives of this study, certain topics were not investi-
gated, one being the role of pimps in relation to the female sex work-
ers. Future researchers might consider studying this issue. Regarding
future studies, it should be noted that little attention has been given
to those tourists who do not become involved with the local men. If
one is to more fully understand relationships between tourists and the
local population, it is also necessary to understand the motivations of
those who do not become involved in these relationships. Finally, more
research is needed regarding the motivations and interpersonal
dynamics involved in the interactions between female tourists and local
men. In particular, the issue of exploitation needs fuller exploration
and analysis. O’Connell Davidson (1998) has argued that Western
female tourists generally exploit local men in the same way that male
tourists exploit local females. However, the findings suggest that female
tourists in the Dominican Republic are not being exploitative. Indeed
most truly believe that they are engaging in consensual romantic
relationships. Relatively few anticipate prior to their visit that they
would be involved in a relationship with a local male. As well, the beach
boys do not feel that they are being exploited and instead believe that
they are, for the most part, in control of the relationship. Indeed, they
996 FEMALE TOURISTS

are the ones who, in deciding which women they will try to establish
a relationship with, make the first approach. Granted the female tour-
ists have more economic power, but this is counter-balanced by the
interpersonal social skills of the beach boys who are very adept in using
this knowledge to their advantage in manipulating the female tourists
for the purpose of economic gain.왎
Acknowledgements—The authors are very appreciative to Bruna Corbesi for her contri-
butions as an interviewer. Funding for this project was received from the International
Development Research Center in Ottawa, Canada.

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Submitted 1 June 1999. Resubmitted 26 May 2000. Resubmitted 16 August 2000. Accepted
7 October 2000. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: David Harrison