Holiday firms urged to protect Ibiza ravers
David Ward, Guardian

Monday July 3, 2000

Tour operators, airlines, hotels and clubs should provide health education and advice to young ravers booking sun and dance holidays in Ibiza, according to researchers who found "disturbing" levels of drug abuse and unsafe sex.

A team at Liverpool John Moores University studied questionnaires distributed at Ibiza's airport. They found that although less than 3% of those surveyed took Ecstasy on five or more days a week in Britain, the figure jumped to 42% while on Ibiza.

Use of cannabis soared from 29% on five or more days while at home to 54% on Ibiza, and almost 31% said they had used more than one drug during their stay. Nearly 90% had drunk alcohol on five or more days while on the Spanish island.

With 700,000 British visitors expected to head for Ibiza this year, the researchers called on holiday companies to provide health education materials and advice.

"While the potential for substance-related ill health is dramatically elevated in Ibiza, harm minimisation measures in such resorts remain scarce," writes Professor Mark Bellis in a paper in the International Journal of Drug Policy today. "And although holiday companies attract a sexually active market, safe sex messages are either absent or ineffective." [Image] The research team found "disturbing" levels of unprotected sex: almost 54% of the sample had had sex while on holiday and more than a quarter did not use a condom, although 23% had sex with more than one partner.

Prof Bellis said many companies traded on images of long nights of booze and sex. "Club 18-30, one of the most successful youth tour operators, includes in its mission statement, 'Try sex in the surf... drink all your duty free on day one'.

In the short term, harm minimisation measures such as educational leaflets, information on seeking medical assistance abroad and easy access to condoms seem essential steps in protecting the health of young holiday makers."

But a spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents said: "Where the risks are exactly the same as one would be facing in the UK, you can assume that customers have a degree of responsibility for their own safety. A holiday brochure is not the place for delivering advice, and I don't think it would make one bit of difference anyway."

Club 18-30 said its customers were given a voucher for free condoms, plus an advice booklet on drugs, produced in conjunction with the Health Education Authority.

The company's general manager, Andy Tidy, added: "While we are not moral guardians, it has always been our stance to encourage young people to take a responsible attitude towards drugs and sex. People of all ages tend to over-indulge while on holiday, whatever their recreational preferences."