British tourists visiting Spain are shaking off the image of drunken lager louts on the Costa del Sol and are better behaved than ever, according to the British Ambassador to the country.

Embassy figures show that the number of detentions for alcohol-related offences and admissions to hospital were “minuscule” last year. Altogether 1,931 Britons were held by the Spanish police, which works out at 0.001 per cent of the 17 million annual visitors from the UK. There were 748 people admitted to hospital, 0.0004 per cent of all visitors.

Denise Holt, who has been the British ambassador in Spain for 18 months, said that there were parts of Spain, such as San Antonio in Ibiza and Magaluf in Majorca, that still had trouble from drunken British visitors. She told Times Travel: “This is usually the starter market of holidaymakers: 17-year-olds on a rite of passage. It's their first trip away from Mum or Dad and sometimes they take it too far.”

But she believes that extensive reporting of incidents at these resorts has affected the image of the country: “People love to hear the stories of over-indulgence - they love to thrill their imaginations. The same stories happen every year.” Holt, who is the former British Ambassador in Mexico, added that there were probably more people detained in Southampton on a Saturday night than Britons in the whole of Spain.

“When you look at the figures, it's amazing how many British people come to Spain and how little trouble there is,” she said. “With 17 million visitors to Spain each year, that's like the entire population going every four years. About one in every four aircraft from Heathrow flies to Spain.”

Many of these are filled with expat travellers rather than tourists. There are one million British expats living in Spain, making Britain the fourth-biggest group of migrants to the country after Ecuadorians, Romanians and Moroccans.

Tourists from the UK going to Ibiza for nightclubbing holidays probably do more damage to the reputation of Spain than any other group. “People come on cheap holidays,” Holt said. “They don't have proper accommodation. They try to propel themselves through the weekend listening to music and popping pills.”

She recently went on a trip in a police car with the Ibiza officers: “They know who the dealers are, and they are making sure it does not get out of hand. They will pick them up if they start dealing on the street corner.

There is a slightly different attitude towards drugs in Ibiza: if you get stopped at the airport and it is personal consumption, the police will simply take the drugs.”

One continuing problem is lost or stolen passports: consulates and embassies issued more than 6,000 emergency documents last year. Many visitors are also neglecting to buy travel insurance. But Stephen Jones, the British Consul for the Canary Islands, said: “I think our image abroad has changed. The numbers getting in trouble are tiny.”

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