Categories: Travel

Why Our Parents Are Right To Worry When We Go On A Party Holiday

We get sick and tired of our parents freaking out when we tell them we’ve booked a party holiday with friends, but they may actually have good reason to worry. So instead of shutting them down and telling them they’re being ridiculous, maybe we should take note and keep our eye on the ball when taking full advantage of the party resort…

Spiked drinks can have devastating effects

Party resorts are the prime location for spiking drinks, and this is no myth. Spiked drinks can lead to violent vomiting, hallucinations, hospitalisation, and even permanent eyesight loss, in the case of Hannah Powell, who unknowingly ingested methanol in her vodka drink. This in itself is evidence that not only do people add substances to your drinks after you’ve purchased them, often with the intention to rob and/or assault you afterwards, but bar staff actively serve you unregulated alcohol. So you can hold on to your drink as if your life depends on it (which it effectively does), cover the top with your hand or a specially designed glass cover, but it’ll all be in vain if you can’t actually trust what you’ve originally been served by supposed professionals.

Drunken antics can be fatal

We all think we’re not stupid enough to be climbing across balconies or diving into the sea when drunk, but it still seems to happen during party holidays. Our generation often return home with broken bones or other serious injuries, or in the worst cases, don’t return home at all. In June this year, three tourists fell from their balconies within the space of a week in the Balearic Islands, one of which died immediately on impact. These types of accidents have become so common, the act is now known as ‘balconing’ when holidaymakers attempt to leap from balconies. If your parents have witnessed you behaving unpredictably and somewhat daringly after alcohol consumption, of course they have a right to be worried about your drunken risk assessment skills abroad.

Knife crime is real

This is a real issue for groups of lads heading off on party holidays. They unfortunately become a target for knife attacks, being followed, harassed, intimidated and possibly beaten up before being stabbed, all so that the attackers can rob them of their valuables. It’s likely that we all know of someone who has been a victim of party resort knife crime or threats. And it doesn’t just affect the victims – onlookers and witnesses to these threats and attacks are scarred for life and frequently develop PTSD, unable to erase the terrifying scene from their brains.

We forget what’s legal…

For some reason we feel as if we’re in another world when we arrive at these famous strips, and that the law doesn’t apply in these exceptional places. But we’re wrong of course. If anything, you’re far more likely to get arrested on a night out at one of these resorts than you are at home, as there are a lot more police around watching out for crime committed by both drunk people and those seeking to take advantage of drunk people. We tend to get carried away and believe we can do anything our drunk minds think is a good idea at the time, from public nudity to public urination, to breaking and entering or damaging public property.

The sex culture makes attacks more likely

Wherever we are in the world, we know there is always the danger of rape, so we take measures to protect ourselves, such as never travelling alone late at night and carrying a rape alarm with us. However, it’s not so easy to protect ourselves within a bustling party resort where sex is at the forefront of most people’s brains. Rape alarms won’t be heard over the loud noise levels and it’s easy to lose friends in the crowds, making you a viable target. Prepare yourself before reading this horrifying rape story from Magaluf in 2011…