Darren, I think it’s about respect all round. I don’t doubt that other countries have their equivalent of ‘Brits abroad’, it just seems that it’s the ‘lager louts’ that get the bad press. These people are really a very, very small minority and while it makes for good press to sell a few extra copies of the ‘currant bun’, I don’t think it’s endemic in any way. We’ve noticed that this part of France (The Loire Valley, near Saumur) attracts few (if any) of the type of lout that infects the sunnier, mediterranean islands and countries. If anything, it’s the young French youths (boys AND girls) here that have just discovered ‘chav-like’ dress and behaviour that cause eyebrows to rise in a heavenly direction! But, they STILL say ‘bonjour’ and shake your hand when meeting. Respect. For your environment, your elders, your peers and your home country. Rant over. Back to the pool…..;)

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To be honest, there’s a lot of us, Brits and Americans, alike that can offend by violating local customs or mores. It can come from ignorance,. which some use as an excuse. But isn’t ignorance simply negligence to learn anything about the place you are going to? I’ve had Brit friends use racial epithets in front of me like it means nothing, but to me it does. Every single one of them at some point or another. Maybe that is just the tendencies of the age group I face on a daily basis. Americans aren’t faultless either – u know the stereotype. It comes from somewhere.

But then again, even if you are part of the culture, doesn’t mean that you can;’t make mistakes. I am Indian and have been raised w/ that culture, and yet, when I went to India, I had no idea that whistling in public was offensive. I wasn’t whistling at someone, but aimlessly whistling the Gilligan’s island theme, and my aunt immediately put her finger to her lips and told me to stop. Apparently, it is unseemly for a woman to whistle, and for anyone to whistle in public.

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Darren, just been wrapping up a book on Thailand With Your Family and behaving responsibly and cultural awareness raising came up a fair bit. To be fair, it should do for any destination, not just less familiar countries, as local knowledge is key. Sometimes, it’s just informing visitors of things they wouldn’t be aware of, such as standing up for the national anthem in Thai cinemas before the film starts, to pay respect to the Royal Family. Locals, of course, are usually very forgiving, but dressing as nuns – do me a lemon…

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There is the other side of the coin, European summer resorts rely heavilly on the ‘drunken Brits’ for business outside of the normal summer holidays. It’s been going on for years and I personally thought making an example of the drunk nuns was a bit harsh.

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