They say the Rhodes resort gained notoriety after being featured on a controversial TV series.

The Greek authorities believe that programme, which centred on the hedonistic, alcohol-fuelled antics of visiting Britons, has encouraged bad behaviour.

Do you have personal experiences of bad behaviour from Britons while on holiday?

Or do you think the police in Greece are overreacting to the problem of holidaying Britons?

Do you worry that the behaviour of a tiny minority of the millions of Britons going abroad each year harms the reputation of all British holiday-makers?

I hate the fact that a minority of british tourists who behave like overgrown kids, harm the perception of the British as a whole. When I go to a foreign country I go to be educated and to learn the culture and way of life in that country. If I am going to be treated as a 'lout' or a 'yob' because of a few it will be a sad state of affairs. Frankly I don't want to be embarassed by my country.
liam, UK

Cracking down on drunken behaviour in a resort built specifically for tourists to get drunk seems a little pointless.

Jon Hawkins, Bristol

This debate is really rather academic, as foreign governments could stop drunken Brits from visiting their countries by making them less attractive destinations for package holiday travellers. As long as there are Brits wanting cheap foreign travel, there will always be countries which are happy to be destroyed in exchange for our money. Cracking down on drunken behaviour in a resort built specifically for tourists to get drunk seems a little pointless.
Jon Hawkins, Bristol, UK

The British and the Swedish have the worst reputations. In both these countries alcohol is expensive and opening times are restricted. Freed from these restrictions, it is only natural that some tourists will behave badly.
Dave, Northolt, England

I have spent most of my adult life travelling abroad for business and pleasure. It is very important to be aware of local customs, culture and laws and to act appropriately. I have absolutely no sympathy with those who flout local laws and find themselves in trouble whether they are tourists, plane-spotters or whatever.
Kulu, UK

The root of the problem in Rhodes is that alcohol in most of the clubs in Faliraki is very cheap

Philip Spheeris, Athens, Greece

I don't think the police in Greece are overreacting to the problem of holidaying Britons. In fact, most people here think that they're passive and they don't act at all. The root of the problem in Rhodes is that alcohol in most of the clubs in Faliraki is very cheap. Oh, and you can easily find any sort of drug you want. That's why the majority of the visitors are young British people. Just heard on the news that around 300,000 young holidaymakers are expected to head for Faliraki this summer.
Philip Spheeris, Athens, Greece

I've meet a number of Brits travelling in the US - none of them were drunk or engaged in questionable behaviour. I've found Brits on holiday the same honourable people I've meet in the UK.
Joe R, USA

The Brits are always welcome in Australia. We don't mind what your behaviour is like as I doubt it's any worse than ours. We would love it if you came and played football (soccer) with us, and all are welcome.
Louise, Sydney, Australia

The World Cup tournament has just finished without any skirmishes reported in either of the host countries. This is because both nations concerned made it clear at the outset that no rowdy behaviour would be tolerated. As a result of this and the co-operation from our police force the trouble makers stayed at home. It is thus a shame to hear that similar crackdowns have to be enforced nearer home, but unless ground-rules are established less well-behaved visitors are going are going to think they can do what they like with scant regard towards the sensitivities of the host holiday resort.
Hazel, UK

We English have much to be proud of but sadly we have a poor reputation in continental Europe due to the behaviour of a few thousand travelling morons. Sadly though I have to remind everyone that these morons behave the same in their home country as they do when they travel.

Every Friday night many young people become drunken morons and for them a foreign holiday is just one long Friday night.

Rob, UK

Try walking around any major town or city in England on a Saturday night and you'll see Benidorm recreated (without the benefits of the good weather of course). I live in Spain and the Spanish 'yoof' aren't perfect either although the difference is that if they travelled to England they'd be less likely to smash the place up and call the waiter 'John'.
Andrew, Spain

There has definitely been a degradation in people's manners over the last 10 or 15 years. Yob culture is most certainly on the increase. However while it is exported to the rest of Europe during the summer, one only has to visit Newquay in Cornwall during mid-June to witness this behaviour more close to home.

Bare-chested drunk morons invade the town, screaming their heads off with mindless football type chanting, vomiting and urinating in public. Ashamed to be British? Yes, even in Newquay, let alone overseas.
John, Hong Kong

This is a problem which starts here at home and must be solved here. There are few standards and the concept of shame has vanished from modern day Britain. Every Friday night many young people become drunken morons and for them a foreign holiday is just one long Friday night.
Rob, UK

Having returned from Rhodes only this week, I am not in the slightest surprised to read this. A real shame, since the island possesses such outstanding beauty and incredible historic monuments. In fact, one other British tourist I bumped into whilst in Rhodes proudly told me how he had vomited at the top of the ancient Acropolis at Lindos, so hungover was he. A great image for us Brits to leave Rhodes with!
Simon, UK

Isn't it time we took away these louts' passports? For at least 20 years, if not for good.

Antony, UK

There is no reputation to harm, quite frankly. No matter how much of the proper BBC/Pride and prejudice-type of image you try to export, continental Europeans have known for long the British mass tourism for what it really is - a sad herd of obnoxious, xenophobic, dim-witted hooligans with an attitude who think of Europe as their playground. That's why they are confined into reservation-like resorts. And rightly so.
M.B., UK

Isn't it time we took away these louts' passports? For at least 20 years, if not for good.
Antony, UK

I feel ashamed to be British. I moved to Sorrento in the south of Italy two years ago. I can honestly say that the British here are considered to be one of the worst types of tourists - that being, alcoholics, tight with money and the women 'easy'. And I agree with that opinion. Whilst the older generation retain the polite and delightfully characteristic British reserve, the younger bring shame to the country by their unelegant dress sense, unsociable drinking habits and lewd behaviour. Can't they understand that it is abnormal to drink alcohol in the morning? Please make me proud of my country before I have to start lying about my origins!
Samantha Buchanan, Italy

Like a lot of people, I think it is a disgrace the way many British holiday-makers behave abroad. They should be on even better behaviour than they would be in the UK - although sometimes even that isn't much to look up to.
Alan, UK

If these people go on holiday to get drunk, eat the non-local food and go nightclubbing till four am, why don't they save their money and hire a sauna? They won't notice the difference!
Helen, UK

While touring the Mediterranean coast last summer, we blundered into one of these full-on Beer'n'Sunburn resorts. God have mercy on the locals! It was a plastic, vomit-stained Gomorah. The noise, the smell and the look of the place were all brutal. Maybe I'm a colossal snob, but I have no idea why these people thought they were having fun. Those few hours felt like a visit to hell. The saddest thing is that only 400m from their Brits-on-the-p**s cess-pit was a foreign country full of miracles and wonders. The poverty of expectation!
Andy, UK ex-pat

Yes these Britons that go to the Med purely to drink British lager, and eat British food are giving us a bad name. They only go for the sunshine and the cheapness of the alcohol. All they want is England with the sun.

Unless these hooligans learn how to behave they should not be allowed to travel abroad

J Parker, Liverpool

I've just come back from Thailand and it's a total different class of English tourists there - they are there to learn the culture, try Thai cuisine and customs, etc. Many of the Thais I met love England, and many were supporting us in the World Cup. So why do they like us? Because we don't go over there, demand English food, demand English lager, cause trouble and demand English customs.
Jo, UK

My Greek friends view holidaying Britons as drunk morons and judging by TV footage I have seen, they are right. My grandma can remember when saying you were British would earn you instant respect. Now it earns you contempt. HM Government should crack down on British yobiness.
Michael Stubbs, England

The bitter truth is that some British, either we like it or not, misbehave, in UK or abroad and unfortunately this affects the rest of the population who might not identify with such hooligans, but unfortunately that's how life is!

Unless these hooligans learn how to behave they should not be allowed to travel abroad (either because of football, or holiday) and disgrace the British reputation abroad,too!
J.Parker, Liverpool, England

The sad truth about the poor behaviour of many British people abroad is that its not new, its not improving and its not restricted to the "loutish" resorts. Our image of ourselves - a modern nation at the heart of Europe - is laughably short of the true image others have of us.

When I go overseas now, it is to avoid my countrymen, of whom I am deeply ashamed.

Terry, UK

Over the past 15 years travelling I have had bad experiences with British tourists in Australia, New Zealand, most of South East Asia, Morocco and - of course - Europe. It has ranged from loutishness through theft to one case of someone trying to plant drugs in my bag to get them through customs. It seems most prevalent in places where the strength of the pound allows people to exploit the local economy - and yes, as others have said, the attitudes are backwardly colonial. When I go overseas now, it is to avoid my countrymen, of whom I am deeply ashamed.
Terry, UK

I don't think this topic is even up for debate. And I don't think it's a tiny minority! Many Brits don't seem to be able to function at home or abroad without being loaded with alcohol. It doesn't matter whether it's Manchester or Miami.

I can't help wondering if the Greek stance is a political backlash stemming from the plane-spotters' debacle - they'll be arresting us for smashing plates there next!

Chris B, England

I remember several trips to Greece in the 1970s, when young Brits got off the plane drunk and vomited all over the airport floor in Athens. And that was just the start of their holiday!

Most of the out-of-control, drunken people I have seen abroad have been Brits. I'm not surprised when I read that cirrhosis of the liver is way up in the UK, and young women are waiting for liver transplants. It's high time the UK started some education program about the short and long-term effects of heavy drinking. Why should the rest of the world have to put up with such crass behaviour? If it's not football yobs, it's drunken tourists. Some exports!
Helen, UK/USA

I didn't notice anyone pointing out the obvious connection between the sanctimonious arguments against foreigners coming to Britain seeking asylum with some small percentage behaving criminally, and the same kind of behaviour exhibited by a noticeable number of Brits travelling abroad to other people's countries.

Perhaps there will come a day when some of these abused countries will put up their own signs saying "No Brits Welcome, Stay Home." When the shoe is on the other foot, it hurts like hell.
Mark, USA

We British have a deserved reputation for ignorant, loutish and generally inconsiderate behaviour abroad, especially in foreign holiday resorts. Perhaps travel agencies should have a Home Office issued "Black List", so that we could subject repeat offenders to the same travelling restrictions as our football hooligans. I can't help wondering though, if the Greek stance is a political backlash stemming from the plane-spotters' debacle, in which case misbehaving British tourists could be in for a rough ride in Greece. They'll be arresting us for smashing plates there next!
Chris B, England

Coming from Greece and reading these comments I would also like to add that unfortunately it is not the ''minority''of misbehaving Britons, which harms the reputation of all British holiday-makers, as it is stated here.

If tourists do not respect the country they visit they should stay home

A Andersson, Greece/Sweden

Travelling every summer within my country, over a period of fifteen years I can definitely say that the British and the ...Swedes have the worst reputation, in the Greek holiday resorts. I, personally, and my Swedish husband (who is often ashamed of his compatriots' behaviour on the Greek islands!) have often seen and heard drunk British and Swedish tourists misbehaving.

A couple of years ago while visiting Santorini,we were unlucky to witness some drunk British singing and even urinating in public in the port during day time!! So, we think it is at least ridiculous to blame the Greek police for foreign disrespectful behaviours while visiting a foreign country. In our opinion if tourists do not respect the country they visit they should stay home, as the only thing they finally achieve is to ridicule themselves and ultimately their own country,as it seems.
A. Andersson, Greece /now in Sweden

As an American living in London, I take comfort in the level of British rowdiness I see abroad, especially in 'international' hot spots such as the Canaries and Greece. It's convenient to have a rebuttal against complaints of obnoxious American tourists here.
Alan, US(in UK)

As a Britain living abroad I have been shocked by the image "we" have in Europe. In the main it is fair to say that the resorts such as Benidorm, Magaluf etc put up with the "rich idiots" for 2/3 months of the year as they know that they get their "country back" at the end of it and the locals are a little richer. A local tourism chief told me that he just hoped the English didn't move away from the current holiday centres and find the rest of the resorts that Spain offers as he doesn't want them spoilt by louts.
Steve Antrobus, Spain

I've never been to any of the European resorts, as the whole tourist thing never appealed to me in the slightest. What's the point of flying all the way to Spain or Greece or wherever then expecting fish & chips and lager, and to have all the "natives" speaking English? Might as well save some money and go to Blackpool instead!

I decided years ago that if by some bizarre twist of fate I ever found myself in one of those tourist areas, I would refrain from speaking English for the duration and hope not to be identified with the Brits and their lager-lout culture.
H.K. ex U.K., Canada

Mobs of drunken morons standing in the streets shouting their foul-mouthed gobs off at everyone who passes them - and that's just the girls

M Maguire, UK

I've just returned from Crete after a lovely holiday. I stayed in a hotel that was well away from the British and spent my time in the company of Dutch holiday makers. What a difference, no swearing, no binge drinking, just manners and good company.

The average Briton abroad has a typical colonial attitude towards the local residents and behaves in a lewd and obnoxious manner, young or old. They are a disgrace to this country and to Europe as a whole.
S Doyle, UK

Yes it does harm our reputation, what little is left of it. But it's not just abroad. Every town centre is the same every Friday and Saturday night. Mobs of drunken morons standing in the streets shouting their foul-mouthed gobs off at everyone who passes them - and that's just the girls.

Young people have always been boisterous but I don't remember things being like this just 10 or 15 years ago. Something ugly has happened to society in recent years, and being impressionable it has particularly afflicted our youth. A general coarsening of everyday life that has debased not only our attitudes and speech but our TV and other media also.

The youth you see on the streets today and programmes like Ibiza Uncovered etc seem to me to behave more like animals than humans. There's no self-control or civility in them.
M Maguire, UK

I could never understand the enjoyment of going on holiday just to spend it getting drunk by night, then trying to sleep with a hangover on a very hot beach under a sweltering sun. But that is what some people want and the Greeks are more than willing to provide all the drink, music, and the sun that is required - at a price of course. So when a few holidaymakers go too far should Greeks really be surprised, at the end of the day?
Stephen G, UK Tyne & Wear

I found that the police in Greece and other foreign areas are usually tougher on tourists anyway. Me and my friends got beaten by the police in Tenerife for walking past someone engaging in lewd behaviour. In my opinion they always have been tough on such behaviour. Personally I think the police in Greece have overreacted in this situation.
James, UK

I am sorry to say but the British have always been seen by Europeans as heavy drinkers

E W, UK

As a Continental European, I am afraid to say this is nothing new, but maybe on a different scale now. Only the British take some of the most beautiful parts of the world and turn it into an exaggerated image of the worst of British culture.

I am sorry to say but the British have always been seen by Europeans as heavy drinkers and their girls as easy targets. Even on our family holidays I have seen lots and lots of British people who are only too happy to stay within an entirely British resort during their whole holiday, drink heavily at the bar every night and return home without seeing a single local (save for the cleaning ladies) or getting familiar with the place.

I am afraid, this is the idea of a good holiday of lots of Britons - not only young singletons.
E.W., U.K. (European)

Throw the lot of them in jail and only let them out when their plane is ready to take them back home.

Colin, UK

I guess that the Greeks have been putting up with foreigners' behaviour because of the money they spend and they know that we will all take our disgustingly impolite behaviour away with us when the holiday season ends.

But, if they want to get tough on drunken hooligans making a bad reputation for their people back home then that's fine with me. Throw the lot of them in jail and only let them out when their plane is ready to take them back home. Then I can go and have a nice peaceful rest.
Colin, UK

OK, I will confess here that in my younger days I was probably the type of tourist that so many of you find disturbing. I went to various places abroad with the sole intention of getting drunk, meeting girls and generally acting in a way I would not have done at home. But I cannot see what harm was done.

Over the course of my jaunts I must have given thousands of pounds over to the locals for accommodation, drinks etc etc and I am sure that it was this type of mass tourism that enabled places such as Greece and Spain to become modern nations.

Now, as a married man with kids I am the complete opposite and have a holiday home on a small Croatian Island where one of the attractions is the lack of young English tourists but if nations don�t like them they can quite easily, via planning restrictions, close down the very specific parts of their coast lines that they go to. But they wont because they like the money to much.
Matthew, England

Some of the comments on this page seem to indicate that it's the hosts that are asking for trouble if they serve alcohol. The sad truth however is that most people are mature enough to enjoy a drink without degrading themselves. Why should they adapt to the lower standard?

Maybe a solution would be to have "tourists" involved in any sort of unsuitable behaviour to be impeded from going to that country again. If it is being discussed to implement restrictions as to who comes into this country, we might as well implement rules which keep some people from leaving it.
Ed K., UK