Drinking on holidays for the British: Hangover Holiday Campaign

FCOI was not very much surprised when I read
this:

The deputy head of the British Embassy, Andrew Staunton arrived today, June 20, at the Greek island of Zakynthos to launch for the 2nd year in a row, the “Hangover Holiday” campaign. Last year, the British Embassy launched the “Hangover Holiday” campaign in Greece, for the awareness of young British tourists, with great success.
The purpose of Staunton’s visit is the cooperation between the British embassy and local institutions in dealing with the problems British tourists cause during the summer season.

For the second year, the main topic of the discussion will be youth tourism, due to their extreme behavior on the streets and beaches of the popular Greek island of Zakynthos.
The campaign “Hangover Holiday” aims to raise awareness of young tourists on the possible consequences of excessive alcohol consumption or driving under the influence of alcohol.
The British Embassy in an effort to encourage more responsible behavior, informs young British tourists through its website, with emergency phone numbers and other useful information.

Upon further research, I found another article on a British government site:

Around 2 million British tourists visit Greece every year and the vast majority of them have a great time here. A small number of them do get in trouble or face difficulties and our Consular team steps in. Approximately half of the consular cases in Greece involve young tourists on holiday in Malia, Laganas, Kavos, Kardamena and Faliraki.

Allow me to quote a relevant passage from the book No Sex Please, We’re Brutish (p. 93):

Why do some Brits go abroad to drink like fish and fight for fun? “I think that’s just a nasty hangover from the jingoism and imperial chauvinism of our past”, says Dr Helen Haste, head of psychology at the University of Bath.
Cosmo Landesman, “May we have the pleasure?”, The Guardian, Saturday October 17, 1998

It was late May and I had gone to see my GP. Whilst I was waiting I couldn’t help but notice a very interesting poster. It was the photograph of a table covered with various empty glasses of all shapes and colours which had apparently contained alcohol. In the background there was a Malaga-type resort and a beach. The poster was done by Health Care North West and it read:

IS THIS ALL YOU’RE GOING TO SEE ON HOLIDAYS?
DRINK WISELY AND HAVE A BETTER TIME.

I believe that the word “holiday” is not sufficient to convey the full significance of the term. It should be re-baptized as “alcoholiday”—hence the question “Is this all you’re going to see on your alcoholidays?” would become absurd, as it appears to challenge a self-evident notion.

One Response to “Drinking on holidays for the British: Hangover Holiday Campaign”
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