Cheap flights and booze fuelled bad behaviour – Brits abroad
Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 17:43
The current crash in the price of airline tickets and the propensity for stag and hen nights abroad are tarnishing Britain’s reputation in foreign countries.
With cheap flights becoming more and more available as the airline industry reaches an unprecedented peak of competition, more Britons are opting to turn the traditional hen or stag night into a weekend of hedonism in other countries. After all it’s now possible to get flights to cities like Prague for less than the cost of a night out in your local town (not much more than £50 from Luton with Cheap flights.
With countries such as Greece and the Czech Republic offering very relaxed attitudes towards alcohol, these destinations are being seen as perfect party locations.
According to Foreign Office statistics, in the period from April 2005 – March 2006, 376 Britons died whilst in France, 6,078 lost their passports whilst in Spain, 955 were admitted to hospital whilst in Greece and 1,368 were arrested whilst in America.
The figures also revealed that with plane tickets being so cheap to the Czech Republic, there were an unusual amount of events requiring assistance from the British Consulate, including lost passports, arrests and admittance to hospital. Research suggests that this is a result of a large amount of hen and stag weekends taking place in Prague.
Another report highlights the behaviour of tourists aged between 16 – 30 whose primary interest is not the local culture but cheap alcohol and casual sex. 1,000 tourists within this age bracket were interviewed. Of these, 75% cited drinking to excess as their primary reason to travel, 28% cited casual sex, while 5% admitted they were going to involve themselves in violence.
Statistically, Britons also lead the way in staying out in the sun too long and requiring hospital assistance as a result. Over-indulgence in alcohol has been highlighted as a major contributing factor for these figures.
Ireland has set a precedent that other countries are considering. Once a highly sought after party destination, Dublin has placed a ban on hen and stag parties in the Temple Bar area of the city. While there has been a drop in the trade for alcohol, the amount of arrests and hospitalisations in that area has dropped considerably since the ban was introduced in 1998.
In response to this, however, Internet sites have been springing up like Prague Pissup.com offering organised party breaks to foreign destinations. They argue that they are able to control and monitor the behaviour of their clients, more easily than a self-governing stag or hen party group.
Clients are told the local legislation in advance so that they are under no illusions as to what is and what is not, acceptable behaviour. They are also issued with tour guides who speak the local language and are duty-bound to try and temper any anti-social behaviour.
Passports are locked up by the company as a safety measure, and clients are issued with a ‘contact card’ that holds the guide’s name, address and telephone number, along with numbers of local taxi firms. There is also a clause in the contract that states that the weekend will be terminated if any member of the party flouts or breaks the rules.
These companies claim that, as a result, there is now a waiting list from local bars asking for these parties to be delivered to them.
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