Having sudied and lived in G.B for many years, am a huge admirer of its culture and civilisation. That leaves me wondering, who are these animals who are let loose every summer on our countries, which in general are peacefull and hospitable ? been thinking that maybe, those thugs, want to be arrested and thrown in jail, where notorious male rapists reside. As everybody well knows, since the time of Socrates, certain Greeks, maybe even Turks and other Balkans who populate our jails, have a soft spot for well shaped white behinds.

Micha Haj, Rhodes,

Articles such as this one you have just published are extremely one sided. I have vacationed in Greece many time and find it an extremely safe and hospitable country - the Brits appear to be the ones causing the problems. Faliraki, Malia, and other areas frequented by the young Brits are the areas everybody else tend to avoid - the locals are fed up. Recent media stories in Greece illustrated the frustration of Malia residents with the Brits to the point that they held protests asking local government to do something to curb the loutish behaviour of the British tourists. I suggest you look in your own backyard to solve your problems rather than attrtibuting them elsewhere.

James K, Wellington, New Zealand

As an American living in Greece for the past 23 years, I have to say that it is really a shame that you even publisize such articles about what happens to Britons in Greece since they are the most horrible tourists (if you want to call them that) that come here. All they do is drink, fight, cause trouble, vomit on the streets and definitely chase away any respectable tourists & locals. They have the worst name in this country as far as tourists go. Rapes, danger and hospilitization, unfortunately, goes with the territory of this mad drinking & mostly happens within their own community. No one wants to be around the Britons, here in Greece, while on holiday. Don't you think that this tells YOU something!
Obviously, these are Britons of a certain younger age but they do cause such havoc and are dangerous to other tourists and the locals, that Britain should really look into this. And Greeks should NOT cater to this kind of "tourist". You must rise above this level and not ACCEPT THEM!

Joanne, Athens, Greece

As a Greek I have to thank you for your excellent anti-Greek propaganda article! This article is helping us to get rid and to liberate our country from the barbarian hordes of Brits tourists that invade every summer our peaceful country. The problem is that we cannot expel them because we all belong to the EU. So terrifying them with articles like yours is our unique way to keep them away. In the meantime really nice Brits have the opportunity to love the real aspects of our Greek life avoiding other trash-tourists and going to no tourist places making good local friends. The nice Britons already know the truth about Greece and are not going to blame Greece as anti-Brit country. But I have a big surprise! Do you guess a new policy for the Foreign Office supporting the Union between Greece and Cyprus?

Georgios Alex, Athens, Greece

As a Greek I have to thank you for your excellent anti-Greek propaganda article! This article is helping us to get rid and to liberate our country from the barbarian hordes of Brits tourists that invade every summer our peaceful country. The problem is that we cannot expel them because we all belong to the EU. So terrifying them with articles like yours is our unique way to keep them away. In the meantime really nice Brits have the opportunity to love the real aspects of our Greek life avoiding other trash-tourists and going to no tourist places making good local friends. The nice Britons already know the truth about Greece and are not going to blame Greece as anti-Brit country. But I have a big surprise! Do you guess a new policy for the Foreign Office supporting the Union between Greece and Cyprus?

Georgios , Nea Smyrni, Greece

The overwhelming majority of Brit tourists in Gteece enter hospitals for either being drunk or having fought with another Brit. When they come to Greece they don't go to traditional Greek taverns or restaurants but they consume beer and whisky as if they had never tasted them before. Greece has experienced the "good" behaviour of British gentlemen in Faliraki (Rhodes) when some of them stubbed a number of other Brits years ago. The Italians had also experienced this behaviour at Heysel (Brussels, Belgium). No Greek authority has encouraged Greek citizens to travel to London despite the terrorist attacks there. Greeks stay at 3, 4 or 5* hotels in London since they don't travel abroad unless they are sure they can afford it. However, the majority of Brits come to Greece intending to spend few pounds per day. Concerning the figures of arrests, I think you should know that the Republic of Cyprus is an independent country and should not be confused with Greece.

Alex, Athens, Greece

British tourists shouting, harassing locals, vomiting... nothing new about that!! We've suffered them for years all over the Mediterranean/Middle East.

However - what are a few shouts and a couple of pints of vomit compared with the rampant pedophile tourist industry flooding the Far East from Britain.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!

Jenn, Nafplion,

Imagine that at these places where all these English people spend their holidays,there are no other tourists. Not even Greeks . And if you really see what they are doing you will realise the arrests and accidents.
This is a bad image for Greece and trying to be polite and show our hospitality we don't send them home!!!

These kind of tourists are no goof for any country! they should just stay home!

Katerina, Athens,Greece,

Is 'hospitalise' really in the Times' style guide? And, if you are determined to go all American on your readership, why not the whole hog and spell it with a 'z' instead of an 's'?

Tom Read, Colchester,

I am British and for five years my family and I lived in Athens. We love Greece and had a wonderful safe time. To our shame we pretended not to be English when British tourists were around, for the British abroad are truly aweful. Loud mouthed, drunk, arrogant and ignorant. Not a pretty sight. The Greek police should lock up more and send them back to the U.K.
How about zero tolerance for drunk Brits abroad?

Tony Ward-Willis, Taunton,, U.K.

Greek hospitality cannot be compared with any one in the world.Given the fact that Britons take advantage of greeks' kindness,makes them be regarded as the worst tourists.I had been living in UK for 4 years and I know Brits' behaviour.Once they get drunk,they change completely.Taking into account that in Greece there are not strict perimissions on the consumption of beverages,Brits get drunk by the time they wake up.No other nation is such beverage-lover.According to my opinion,Greece is the safest destination and the last decade,there has been an unfair censorship. London and Birmingham are much more dangerous than othen cities in Greece.

MARIANNA, ATHENS, GREECE

well you should visit Rodos island and corfu island to see first how British people behave there.They walk around drunk all day, many of them take drugs and are on fights all the time with other (drunk) British, locals and tourists.Its awful!(but Im not talking about families that come with their children here...).The only danger ive seen in places ive been in the Greek islands was only the aggressive behavour of the young British.They dont only cause problem to the locals, they also create a very bad image for the Greek tourism...wondering how better it would be without them.

And its a fact that the majority of these young people are British.Wherever they go they seem to cause troubles...it was also the British hooligans that caused problems in the Champions League final in Athens few months ago...
Why do mostly the British cause trouble here and why do they behave in such a disgusting way?that would be a very interesting article to write down...

vangelis , athens, greece

To Alec Bevan, Melbourne, Australia

You seem to have a serious problem with British people bordering on, if not crossing into, racism. Do you actually go to Europe regularly? What qualifies you to make these narrow minded bigoted little statements? You talk as if ALL british tourists are drunken louts. My friends and I go abroad regularly to Europe and you couldnt meet a more well behaved and polite bunch.

I find it offensive of you and several other people in this comments page to make such sweeping statements about us, I accept that in some of these tacky little resorts, people misbehave, but to tar us all with the same brush is just plain ignorant.

The last time I went to Europe I don't remember harrassing elderley people in the street OR being violent, does that mean I am not British anymore? Besides which the Australian reputation for drinking is hardly something to be proud of, people in glass houses, Alec......

James Roberts, Manchester, UK

Take a closer look at the figures by country and compare per capita rates. It is interesting that the USA has the highest rate of arrest, three times that of Spain, and thirty times that of France and Ireland. What can explain this disparity? Are Britons visiting in America have greater criminal tendencies than those going to France and Ireland? Or, is it possible that the USA, with the highest incarceration rate in the world, is quick to arrest anybody who steps outside the lines of acceptable and prescribed behavior?

I'm an American now living in Mexico for four months. The previous five years I lived in Nice, France and in northern Denmark. I have also travelled throughout Europe and have had extended visits in Germany, Romania and Croatia. I have seen how Britons behave while away from home and by far the great majority are polite and not looking for trouble. But, there are many younger Britons whose goal on holiday is to get as drunk as possible.

Ken Cruce, Chapala, Mexico

How unfair your title is.

When I travel anywhere in the world if I find out the resort of hotel is frequented by the Brits, I steer away.

It is common knowledge that drinking, rowdiness and violence will be part of the sigtseeing if staying where the British stay.

It is suprising to me that the number of arrests are not higher than those shown in this chart. It is usual to find British citizens disrespecting the law of the countries they are visiting as they feel they are a superior country and are more civilized than the rest of the world.

RG, Cary, NC, US

why is it that the brits alwats have trouble?? i saw them in athens during the champion leuge final disgusting!!

panos, aigio, greece

Greece , I feel, is one of the safest countries if not hte safest country in the world. This article makes it sound like arrests aren't good. Thats what they do to criminals and to people breaking the law. They arrest them. I've been to Faliraki and I will tell you. If you acted like most of those people, Brits, did in Florida, your ass would go to prison. Believe it.
They urinated on the street in front of everybody, fighting and naked..and that was the one time I was there. I wonder if I went to Briton and acted like that as a tourist what would happen. Imagine.

Larry, Melb, USA/Florida

Your accusations against Greeks are compleyely unfounded. Britons on the contrary create many problems in Greece, reknowned for it's hospitality.During the summer you will see many times tourists from UK completely wasted,regurgitating and even showing body parts that are not meant for public view. Generally their manners leave a lot to be desired,so you have nerve to accuse Greeks of treating you badly.I wonder if this stems from your desire to get back at us for pointing out the problems the Britons create as tourists.You can't complain about the arrests.How else are the Greek authorities expected to react to such behaviour? I hope next time you have the need to write such articles you take into consideration the real facts.

Helen, Heraklio, Greece

I have seen Brits very drunk and very violent both in Spain and Uk since long. Nothing new in the sun (or in the rain).
Nonetheless, I can´t complain of my stays in UK, for I have
always been treated well.

Tato Dulanci, Vitoria, Spain

One implication from the statistics is that wherever the British tourists go, they suffer from rapes, lost passports, arrests, etc. Which country that they go to, is irrelevant. The only common factor is the British nationality.

Vinay Mehra, Purley, Surrey

First of all, I have to speak about my experiences. I have seen many British tourists in Cyprus and many of them behave like animals. They are always drunk and cause problems.
It is well known that the British propaganda aims specific countries like Greece – envy maybe? (e.g. British media libel the Athenian preparations for the Olympic Games in 2004-it proved at the end of the day that London is a “safer” city than Athens).
Greece is the cradle of civilization and one of the most beautiful places in the world (I am a Cypriot and I visit Greece six times per year), and tourists will always visit Greece. Greece is doing well and soon Greeks will have a better standard of living from Britain (if they don’t already have). You are propaganda is useless. Try to write an article about how dangerous London is and the ghettos of East London.
Although Greeks are living in Cyprus, Cyprus and Greece are two different countries. So, don’t try to make up stats in order to find “arguments” to support that Greece is a dangerous place.
Andreas, Lemesos, Cyprus

Andreas, Lemesos,

Why do people keep saying that British "tourists" are drunk, rowdy, loud, uncouth and vomit/pee all over the place?

As far as I know, the Brits do it here too.

Pete, Cov,

I wonder how those stats would change if you removed the rapes/hospitalisations that were inflicted on Brits by other Brits abroad?

Having briefly experienced the horrors of Kavos, I wouldn't be surprised if a large chunk was due to in-fighting, while the locals simply go about the business of preparing fish'n'chips, english breakfasts and pints of beer for our cultured brethren.

John Tee-Rhodes, Manchester,

Britons vommitting on the side of the road is a common occurence everywhere they go. The British are the quintessential example of the UGLY tourist. Whether it be the hooliganism or drunken senseless violence at a night club strip, the issue only seems to relate to the UK tourist.

Alex Bevan, Melbourne , Australia

Hmm, bit like the Aussies one comes across in London, really. Loud, fat and drunk.

B Humphreys, Melbourne, Australia

I do remember when British people came to Athens for the Champions League finals. You should be there and see how savage people is... They were all drunk, doing stupid things, regurgitate all aver the place...
And now do they have e problem with the greek hospitality and the press says that vacation in Greece are dangerous? Gosh! That' s really funny!!!

John, Athens,

Greece has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe. I think the Brits should ask themselves, why are so many Brits being arrested and hospitalized in Greece, despite Greece being such a tranquil and hospitable nation. I believe there is good reason why the Greeks love the German, Scandinavian and Italian tourists, but view the Brits as "Eurotrash".

Nick, Philadelphia, PA

Britons vommitting on the side of the road is a common occurence everywhere they go. The British are the quintessential example of the UGLY tourist. Whether it be the hooliganism or drunken senseless violence at a night club strip, the issue only seems to relate to the UK tourist. Your headline implying Greece is a dangerous holiday destination is unfounded by these figures because it does not show who has inflicted these acts of rape and violence. It is like saying tourists should stay away from London for fear of a terrorist attack. That is how misleading this headline is and from now on I think that businesses with Greek links should reconsider advertising with your paper.

Alex Bevan, Melbourne , Australia

"The FCO breaks out the figures for Cyprus (330), which would give the whole of Greece a combined total of 556. "

I wasn't aware that Cyprus is no longer an independent sovereign state, with its own flag, policies & government.

With this level of knowledge being shown in a broadsheet, it is little wonder our Cypriot friends find it so hard to drum up international support for a just solution to the Cyprus (not Greece) problem.

And as a Briton born and raised, I have little doubt that the "danger" written about here is in large part self - inflicted those apparently suffering in "danger" due to the typical behaviour of (I'm going to guess young) Britons out for a night, heightened by the contempt for 'foreigners' that seems only to flourish when on holiday.

When I am in Greece, I am ashamed to say I am from England.

Michael, Essex, England

TURKEY-- We always try to welcome everybody from all nations. Tourism or travelling is a way to improve world peace, solve cultural conflicts and it begins with a small step which is trying to understand and respect different cultures.

ISIK, ANTALYA- TURKEY,

Even the title alone does not read well for Greece or Greeks - a shame as being British myself (and living in Essex) I am so ashamed reading this as the usual drunken violence and abuse that occurs most nights on our streets seems to be our most famous export these days.

Also, I'm not quite sure how informed the writer is on Geography or more specifically but totalling the arrests of Cyprus and Greece to give total arrests "for Greece" is a bit ignorant, what with Greece and Cyprus being two separate, independent, sovereign countries, run by different government, with different flags etc etc.

It's like totally Scottish and English arrests and calling it the "English" total - except England has greater parliamentary say in Scottish affairs than does Greece in Cyprus (they have no say).

Mr B, Essex, England

I must agree with the above users' comments on Greece. British tourists tend to behave horrendously there, and you can often find locals in small communities holding protests about it. Some islands are turned into British ghettos in the summer months, just as James describes. And then, when the British find themselves behind bars, they suddenly wonder how it could happen. Perhaps they should pay closer attention to how tourists from other countries behave themselves.....

(Just in passing: The reporter made a silly comment about Cyprus and Greece being the same country... That flies in the face of 500 years of history.)

John, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Last time i checked the map, Cyprus and Greece were different countries.. what happened in the mean time?
The Times have decided to unite them in order to make a point with unified stats.

Paris, London, UK

I don't know about rapes (I've never heard of any) but some British tourists (not all, obviously) who come to, for example, Malia, are rowdy and drunk and cause all sorts of trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if the rapes and hospitalisations happened among the tourists themselves, since I am not aware of rape problems in Greece...

Poromenos, Crete, Greece

The title of this piece should be "With Britons for a dangerous holiday". Female holidaymakers are more likely to be raped if they are British and if they go to places where there are many male Britons. Who come otherwise that e.g. German tourists do not face similar problems in Greece or most other countries? The problem lies in different drinking cultures.

Besides, there is of course an interrelation between hospitalisations and the number of arrests. A single brawl taking place between drunk Britons and their subsequent arrest by the police may lead to several arrests and quite a number of hospitalisations. The same goes for rapes, hospitalisations and arrests.

It is sad that the article does not point out to these problems but instead deliberately creates the impression that Britons should better not travel to certain countries if they do not want "dangerous holidays". If they stay sober and avoid drunk Britons they can have nice and safe holidays almost everywhere.

Christian Schmidt, Cologne, Germany

It would provide British tourist a truer picture if the statistics provided also showed country of origin or the perpetrators of crimes against British citizens, as well why the travellors were hospitalized. As well, it would be interesting to know the reasons for such high arrests of British citizens - Do the high rates of arrest of British citizens by Greek police help reduce crimes against British citizens.

Tony Tsampiras, Toronto, Canada

This report is another proof of British Hate Propaganda against Greece or other countries who doesn't agree with the British SemiEmpire.I have been many times for holidays in Greece,Spain and other countries. And will go back again.I never had any problem or any person i know.The only thing i see and hear from locals is that, British and Irish are troublemakers.They should go for holidays to their cousins America and Turkey,and see if they tolerate their problems !

Mario, Irvine, U.S.A.

Why all these thinks happen to British?
How many of those rapes made by British?

Is there any research about :
The “British drinking problem” when they are on holidays?
Are the British fill more free on a foreign country to do what ever they want?

Juan, Borha, Spain

This report is another proof of British Hate Propaganda against Greece or other countries who doesn't agree with the British SemiEmpire.I have been many times for holidays in Greece,Spain and other countries. And will go back again.I never had any problem or any person i know.The only thing i see and hear from locals is that, British and Irish are troublemakers.They should go for holidays to their cousins America and Turkey,and see if they tolerate their problems !

Mario, Irvine, U.S.A.

Faliraki, and similar resorts within the Greek territory SHOULD NOT be confused with Greece. These are essentially British colonies, complete with Irish pubs, Mcdonalds, SkySports and chip shops.

Most, if not all of the establishments in these resorts are owned and managed by UK nationals, and cater to the elevated standards of say, Liverpool, or Sheffield.

Greeks may be an odd bunch but they have nothing to do with rapes or hospitalizations in these ghettos

james, greece,

Drunk British Youths (and even adults) vomitting on the streets across southern Europe is a common occurance and reflects on the country's society, not the host country. How is Greece with one of the lowest crime rates in Europe a dangerous country to visit? Many young British youths on holidays don't know how to drink responsibly and act like hooligans. Your headline should not be a negative one about Greece, but rather one that reflects the British binge-drinking problem and hooliganism. I can't think of another tourist from any other country who does not respect the laws, the culture or the people of a country they are visiting as much as the young British traveller. (Easily the ugliest tourist in the world). It's all about the party and the booze- including harrassing elderly people on the street or being violent. Your headline is unfair, given that most people risk their lives taking the tube or a bus in London in fear of a terrorist attack.

Alec Bevan, Melbourne, Australia