Fallacious reporting: World Youth Day to drive upswing in Sydney sex industry

Good heavens. This takes the cake for stupid reporting:

NEWS.com.au says a report by Industry analysts IBISWorld predicted the 2008-09 financial year would see strong growth for brothels, strip clubs and prostitutes stemming from the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, primarily on the back of a marked increase in tourism levels to Sydney.

IBIS World senior industry analyst Ed Butler said the report did not suggest the 225,000 international pilgrims or clergy would be heading to brothels or strip clubs.
But the event, to be held from July 15 to 20, would also draw people from outside the church including tourists, support staff and media and some of them would use the sex industry's services.

"Any major event will drive tourism, which is closely related to the sex industry and World Youth Day will also bring out a certain number of non-religious people," he said.

The article at least has some sense that any connection between the two subjects is incidental:

"Growth would be estimated to be greater, but the religious nature of the event is likely to have a dampening effect on growth rates, as many of the visitors may have moral anxieties relating to this particular industry's services."

Ramada Khawley, function manager for strip clubs such as Men's Gallery and Pure Platinum, said she was not expecting an upswing in trading.

"We're not making any special preparations for World Youth Day," she said.
"But we'll keep a table reserved for the Pope."

Brothel madams spoken to by NEWS.com.au also expressed doubts that World Youth Day would be of benefit to their trade.

And it seems this is something they agree with World Youth Day organisers on.
"I'd be surprised if the sex industry gets a boost from a religious event," a World Youth Day spokesman told NEWS.com.au.

I'm guessing instead that people with "moral anxieties" about prostitution might discover a reason during the pope's visit to transform those anxieties into certainties about the immorality the practice.

Wait, let me rephrase that in a language that the reporters can understand: "World Youth Day may yield a significant increase in the certainty of individuals between the ages of 18-35 that brothels are 0% worthy of their patronage."

Much better.