Posted by Damozel | Having been married to a total of two (2) English men---at different times, of course--- and living here in Florida, I have often observed the curious changes that happen when shy, reserved Brits go on vacation. But are they starting to take their fun too far?
The New York Times reports:
What's wrong with any of that except, um, the vomiting? Nothing's more fun than a crowd of rowdy Brits on vacation. But this resort's mayor doesn't see it that way. Par-tay! Par-tay! Par----
“The government of Britain has to do something,” Mr. Lagoudakis said. “These people are giving a bad name to their country.”
They are also hurting themselves in the process. A recent report published by the British Foreign Office, “British Behavior Abroad,” noted that in a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, 602 Britons were hospitalized and 28 raped in Greece, and that 1,591 died in Spain and 2,032 were arrested there. (NYT)
"All of which." says the article, "leads to a natural question:
Why?" Hey, I know that answer to that! Call on me! Call on me! Me!
“I think that in their country, they are like prisoners and they want to feel free,” said Niki Pirovolaki, who works in a bakery on Malia’s main street and often encounters addled Britons heading back to their hotels — “if they can remember where they are staying,” she said.
David Familton, a Briton who works in a club here, said that it was a question of emotional comfort. “It’s because of British culture — no one can relax, so they become inebriated to be the people they want to be,” he said. (NYT)
While I would never say that Brits are "like prisoners" at home---I've always felt they have more intrinsic liberty than Americans---it's certainly true that in their native habitat, many---though by no means all--- tend to be more self-contained, quieter, more diffident than Americans.
Alcohol is a way for them to loosen up when abroad and nobody enjoys holidays more than British people. So possibly some of them may get a tad out of hand.
The tourists confessed to drinking a lot. One 21-year-old man from Essex, for instance, said that his consumption the night before had been five beers; six specialty drinks combined with Baileys, tequila, absinthe, ouzo, vodka, gin and orange juice; five vodka and lime drinks; and then five cans of Stella Artois, all of which, he said, emboldened him to pick up a woman to spend the night with. But they said that the lurid stories are media exaggerations. (NYT)
But the locals don't see it that way. And the tour packages that Brits are so fond of---anathema to many Americans I know---kind of encourage them to go wild.
Local officials say the blame lies not just with the tourists themselves, but also with the operators of package tours promising drinking-and-partying vacations, and clubs offering industrial-strength alcohol at rock-bottom prices. For about $50 in Malia, tourists can go on unlimited-drinking pub crawls.
“British tour operators present them with these packages that promise a wild holiday in Malia,” said Brig. Fotis Georgopoulos, the police chief of Iraklion, which takes in Malia. “This predisposes them. They are automatically put into a wild and lawless mind-set that is beyond them.”...
Why do they drink so much while on holiday?
“It’s what everyone wants to do,” one young man said.
His friend said: “We have stressful jobs, and we don’t get much time off, and we like to enjoy ourselves and have a good laugh. And we love a bargain." (NYT)
Back when I lived in Kissimmee (my first British husband worked for the Mouse), I used to enjoy the Brit tourists. I used to go to karaoke bars on purpose to hear them sing.
Nobody gets more out of a holiday than a British person. And nobody takes tanning more seriously. And I loved the way the ladies, even the older ladies, would calmly remove their tops while lying for hours by the pool. (I think a city ordinance bans them from doing so now).
It's a shame some of them get out of control, especially since some of them get hurt, but I hope they can be persuaded to cut down on the drinking without cutting back on the fun. They're my favorite tourists---they take their fun so seriously. They even go about it with serious expressions. I love them.
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