Thai gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgenders (LGBT) still face discrimination affecting their social rights and job opportunities, the US Agency for International Development and the United nations Development Programme say.
These groups still face difficulty gaining acceptance for non-traditional sexuality, even though the tourism authority has been promoting Thailand as a gay-friendly country, the agencies say in a report.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a campaign, "Go Thai. Be Free'' to attract gay and lesbian tourists.
The report says it is disappointing transgendered people cannot change identity papers, and male-to-female transgender people still have to perform military service.
Several examples of inequality among LGBT were provided in the report, that was prepared and researched over two years.
One example concerns a hospital which refused to allow a transexual to stay in a woman's ward, even though she had undergone sexual reassignment surgery.
The report, however, suggested authorities should allow transgender people to change their sex in legal documents.
Gay activist Natee Teerarojjanapong, known as "Gay Natee", said yesterday he disagreed with the report.
Thai society was now open for all genders, including the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
"You can see a number of gays or lesbians in Thailand these days and they are not unusual or stand-out groups in society as they were before. You can also watch gay and lesbian characters on TV, which means they are accepted. There is no discrimination here,'' Mr Natee said.
Mr Natee said the report's one-sided slant could hurt the country's image. He called on state agencies to do more research into issues affecting these groups to ensure a more balanced picture.
The report is part of the project, "Being LGBT in Asia'', which aims to promote understanding towards LGBT people and help them fight discrimination. The project was also held elsewhere in Asia, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.