According to the National Statistical Office of Thailand, female Thais marry at an earlier age than male Thais, and that 24% of Thai households have women identified as "heads of households".[5] In 2007, The New York Times reported that after the Vietnam War, Thailand became the main "rest and recreation" and "sex tourism" destination of male foreigners, resulting to some marriage arrangements with Thai women. Among those who establish such marriage arrangements are men from Europe and the United States seeking companionship and economic relief particularly during retirement age. The Thai women, on the other hand, enter into the marriage arrangements in order to redeem themselves from their former life as prostitutes, from abandonment by former partners, and as an escape from "poverty and unhappiness", but not all Thai women who entered into this type of marriage were former prostitutes.[7]