Heterosexuals, sex and holidays

Evidence about sexual behaviour of heterosexuals on holidays is a little more available than is that for homosexuals, but is still limited. The papers in Clift and Page (1996) were all mostly focused on heterosexual tourists, but shared a common view that there was a paucity of studies of sexual behaviour of tourists. There was some agreement, though, that holidays are opportunities for relaxing behavioural norms and that tourists do make new sexual contacts and may take greater risks in those contacts. Holidaymakers have reduced perceptions of the consequences of sexual activity and some – especially heterosexually orientated holiday companies – encourage sexual activity. Most papers agreed that casual sexual encounters appear to be part of the desired holiday experience. It is not always clear how the situation when on holiday, in terms of numbers of sexual partners and the level of unprotected sex, compares with that at home. There were considerable differences in the studies, however, in figures quoted relating to proportions of tourists who had sex whilst on holiday and with whom and how many partners. Some suggest that the number of travellers (usually focused on young travellers) who had sex with new partners whilst away is low but many studies none the less report a ‘high’ level of unsafe sex. Drug and alcohol use may be associated with unsafe sex: a general lowering of inhibitions and increased recklessness on holiday. Some holiday sex may also be related to ‘romance’ and not regarded as casual sex, and the need for safe sex is neglected.

A study of British heterosexual young people on ‘dance holidays’ in the Balearics showed that the proportion who had sex on holiday was lower than those who had sex at home (50% compared with 67%) and the average number of partners was fewer; usage of drugs and alcohol was much higher, however (Elliott et al., 1998) (these were young people who were on dance holidays and may therefore have been less interested in sex on holiday than were other young holidaymakers). A similar study of British young (16–35) holidaymakers on Ibiza (though not with a focus on dance holidays) found that most had visited for ‘the music’ and only 15% were ‘looking for sex’, though this reason was given by 22% of men and only 4% of women. The majority of all respondents had travelled to the island without a partner (Bellis et al., 2004). Just over half had sex at least once during their stay and 13.5% had sex with between two and five sexual partners, and the number of partners during a 10-day holiday was, on average, equal to that in the previous 6 months. In a survey of UK tourists on Tenerife (Canary Islands), average age 30, it was reported that 35% had had sexual intercourse with a new partner whilst on holiday (Batalla-Duran et al., 2003).

Males were shown to be more likely than women (20.8 compared with 3.7%) to have sex with a new partner during a vacation break (the Spring Break) in a study of heterosexual US students in Florida (Josiam et al., 1998). The number of new sex partners (per week) during the break was significantly higher than the number at other times (for men, 1.5 compared with 0.2). Sexual relationships and motivations are not confined to men, however. In a study of female (heterosexual) tourists (single or travelling alone) in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, 31% had engaged in one or more sexual relationships with local men during the holiday and one-quarter of these reported two to five partners (Sanchez Taylor, 2001). The women who had sexual relationships with local men were more likely to have made several visits to the Caribbean in the past. In another female-focused study, heterosexual women tourists who had sexual intercourse with a new partner on their trip often associated this with a strong physical attraction, but it was also regarded as signifying commitment (Thomas, 2000). It was shown in a further study of the relationship between ‘beach boys’ and female tourists in the Dominican Republic that the women regarded it as more of a romantic relationship than did the male tourists in their encounters with female sex workers (Herold et al., 2001). In the study of women tourists who had sex with Caribbean local men, most did not regard the men as prostitutes, despite having given cash, gifts or meals to them (Sanchez Taylor, 2001). Relationships were more usually described as a ‘holiday romance’ or ‘real love’. Jeffreys (2003), however, considered that women remained the exploited partner in such relationships.