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Perhaps the mayor of the Greek seaside resort of Faliraki put it best. “Mercifully our clientele this summer is a wonderful mix of people from all over Europe who know how to peacefully enjoy their time…There are far fewer Britons.”
Oh dear. It’s a rather embarrassing fact that in large swathes of Europe – and, increasingly, elsewhere – the annual influx of British holidaymakers is welcomed by bar owners and dreaded by just about everyone else. During the summer months, the unsightly antics of boozed-up, lobster-skinned Brits make front pages from Majorca to Marrakech, Ibiza to Istanbul.
Last year, a Foreign Office report revealed the extent of our shame. In 2005–6, 1,368 Brits were arrested in America, 955 hospitalised in Greece and 6,000 lost their passports in Spain.
Meanwhile, another report revealed what everyone already knew: most 16- to 30-year-old Brits don’t go on holiday for the local culture or cuisine, but an all-too-predictable potpourri of binge drinking and casual sex.
And to hammer home the point, new research by lastminute.com found that Brits on the beach are deemed the least attractive, rudest, worst dressed and the heaviest drinkers by other European holidaymakers. And the worst bit? Three quarters of British tourists agree!
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So here – with due apology to all wronged parties worldwide – we present our rundown of the top 10 worst recent examples of bad, or just sad, British behaviour abroad. It comes with the following caveat: acts of stupidity might be amusing now, but many of the embarrassed Brits involved ended up in a heap of holiday trouble.
Do us Brits deserve our dreadful reputation? Have your say.
Plane stupid
If there’s ever a time and place for binge drinking and risky behaviour, it isn’t 30,000ft over continental Europe. In July, two British women were arrested after a flight from Kos to Manchester was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany. The women’s in-flight entertainment had involved a large quantity of smuggled vodka and ended when one of them tried to open the cabin door for some “fresh air.” Everybody else made do with Toy Story 2.
Laganas louts
Laganas, on the Greek island of Zante, is a magnet for young British tourists intent on sun, sangria and sex on the beach. We don’t mean cocktails. Earlier this summer, nine British women faced vice charges for taking part in lewd acts on the resort’s golden sands. According to locals, the sand dunes are regularly littered with amorous, half-naked Brits. “The young British holidaymakers are animals,” said one bemused taxi driver.
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Sand everywhere
It seems that some Brits will strip off and get down to it pretty much anywhere, regardless of cultural sensitivities or legal consequences. In July, businesswoman Michelle Palmer was arrested for having sex on a beach in Dubai, and compounded the offence – according to reports – by attacking the arresting officer.
Video nasty
After insulting much of Europe, some Brits seem keen to take crass behaviour further afield. Last year, three British tourists videoed themselves making fun of an aged Singaporean rickshaw driver before walking away without paying. The video was posted on YouTube and quickly spread across Southeast Asia. Bloggers and message boards gave the British reputation for decency and fair play a hammering from which it may never recover.
OAP SOS
They’re calling it the OAP phenomenon – overseas and plastered. According to the Foreign Office, more over 55s are travelling to foreign lands than ever before, and more are indulging in risky behaviour (from bungee jumping to binge drinking) when they get there. The British vice consul on the Greek islands of Rhodes said that most problems with older Brits are caused by over-consumption of alcohol and food, and admitted that some intoxicated oldies – nicknamed the Saga louts – become abusive.
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Baltic exchange
The Baltic capitals of Riga and Tallinn have lured countless British stag parties with the promise of cheap booze and lap dancing, and are paying an all-too-predictable price. The Interior Minister of Latvia has called English tourists “pigs,” and top of the list of complaints is a very British proclivity for urinating in public. One Brit was even jailed earlier this year for urinating on one of Latvia’s most revered public monuments.
Do us Brits deserve our dreadful reputation? Have your say
Holiday hooligans
Football hooligans are reviled and despised. Holiday hooligans, on the other hand, are welcomed with open arms and plied with strong drink. The results are predictable. A spate of violent incidents in southern Europe has led many to fear that the ‘English disease’ – exported violence – had transferred from terraces to tourist hotspots. In 2006, for instance, rival gangs of British thugs fought running street battles in the Crete resort of Malia before storming the local hospital.
Thrills and pills
And talking of Malia, the Crete resort is the latest capital for young Brits intent on a fortnight of hardcore partying. And we mean hardcore. The local medical centre hands out up to 100 morning after pills every day to young British women, and its chief told the Daily Mirror: “Many have slept with three or four boys in a night without using a condom.”
Southern exposure
Sometimes offence is entirely in the eye of the beholder. English tourist Helen Simpson was barred from a casino in New Zealand last year for possessing ‘offensive’ breasts. We’re not joking. “I feel like I've been discriminated against for having big breasts,” said Simpson, who was wearing a low cut cocktail dress at the time. The casino’s dress code only insists on ‘smart, neat attire.’
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Bring your own
Visit any European resort popular with Brits and you’ll experience a sensual assault of exotic sights and smells. That’s right, fish and chips shops, British pubs and full English breakfasts are everywhere. A recent study reinforced the stereotype of the timid British tourist, wary of strange foreign cuisine and terrified of Delhi-belly. It found that one in five Brits stuff their suitcases with baked beans, instant soups and cornflakes so they don’t have to sample even a mouthful of local fare.
Do us Brits deserve our dreadful reputation? Have your say.
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