Abstract
There is increasing societal worry about the long and short-term medical implications of binge drinking. There is also societal and fiscal concern about the impact that the rowdy carnivalesque behaviours engendered by the heavy drinking expected during a party tourism holiday has upon both the tourist and the local community. Therefore, a multi-disciplinary analysis of extant literature relating to the party tourism phenomenon and the consumption of excess alcohol which identifies gaps in current knowledge is timely. Reviewed from a British tourist perspective, the party tourism enclave primarily hosts friendship and rites of passage groups, and stag and hen parties where a high alcohol consumption is an expected, if not compulsory, holiday behaviour. The authors go beyond sole recognition of excessive alcohol consumption in beach destinations using thematic analysis to assess the role of the communal enclave space, the power of place and representations of drinking to excess via media and holiday discourses. This is measured in the context of culturally (un)acceptable behaviours within different drinking groups according to demographics, peer group pressures, purpose of holiday and personal incentive to drink. This links to roles of social media, levels of risk tourists are willing to take, memories of holiday drinking experiences, the role the hospitality and tourism industry in promoting alcohol consumption and levels of governance and policing within the party tourism destination. Recommendations are made for future empirical research to inform policy and practice within party and nightlife destinations.
Highlights
This study considers in detail the role of alcohol and the party tourism context from a British perspective for two reasons
Mintel (2016) showed that one in three British tourists went to Spain and popular destinations continue to be the islands of Majorca and Ibiza which contain the renowned party tourism hotspots of Magaluf and San Antonio respectively
The authors accept the detail presented is conceptual in nature, it has demonstrated that there is a great deal about these interactions which is unknown and mythologised
Summary
This study considers in detail the role of alcohol and the party tourism context from a British perspective for two reasons. Reflecting Fishbein and Ajzenâs (1975) theory of reasoned action which posits that peoplesâ behavioural intentions are functions of two basic determinants; attitude towards a particular behaviour and subjective norms, plus their own research expertise, the authors analysed current literature relating to the phenomenon of party tourism in the context of alcohol use They extended their review to consider societal impacts arising from those determinants. The themes discussed in this paper arose from this critical analysis namely gender, the embodiment of space and liminality, the influence of media, industry attitudes and government policy These themes provide a multi-dimensional perspective of excessive drinking behaviour whilst on holiday. A better understanding is required of the voyeuristic role of the media, which opposes and advocates transgressive behaviours to a mass audience blurring what is unacceptable at home and acceptable abroad
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