To think that all holidays are essentially false curated experiences and that antipathy to people who go to Benidorm etc is just snobbery?

[Fuma]

The UK middle classes have long shown disdain for British people who go to mass tourism resorts like Benidorm and Magaluf, waxing lyrical about their own more "authentic" travel experience. But these travel experiences are still relatively brief, selective and involve at best fleeting glimpses of meaningful cultural exchange.

Indeed in many cases the experience that the middle class Northern hemisphere traveller has comes at great expense to the comfort, security and well being of the citizens whose country they visit - beaches protected by armed guards, luxury hotel staff living hundreds of miles away from their families with no running water and so on. Unlike the tourist in Spain who will generally be catered to by people on EU mandated wage scales and living with much the same amenities and protections as the people who visit their country.

So given that we all go on holiday to have a break from real life and experience existence in a temporary state of stasis, is it really so much worse for someone to choose to spend this time in a mock English pub if that's what they want to do?

Yes, have an opinion on what I think are peoples shitty holiday choices. Which is why I don't make the same choices. I think people who drink Tennents in Spain, get naff tattoos and have all day breakfasts are embarrassing to our country. So sue me. I think it's more snobby to not hold people to a higher standard because it stinks of 'they know not what they do.' We should be boosting people to experience life outside their own bubble.

An ex-colleague was like this - v disdainful of those of us who went on package holidays. She went to Crete the same time I did, but went off the beaten track , even knocking on the doors of Cretan people's houses to get the true experience.

I did wonder what the Cretan people made of her and her boyfriend rocking up...

Being middle class hardly makes people decent human beings nor working class eh @moondust001

m.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU

but I do judge the larger lout Brits overseas behaviour.

But that isn't what the OP was referring to. The OP refers to people judging others for the places and types of holidays they go on, not how they behave when there.

I have seen loutish type behaviour from far more cultures than just British, and I have seen poor behaviour from tourists in places all over, not just in select Spanish type resorts.

"Let’s face it everywhere the Brits go they turn it into a horrible place."

Nonsense. As a British person I have been to many places around the world, some where there are many Brits, some where there are far fewer. As said above, my experience is certainly that you can get a certain type of behaviour from people of varying cultures and origin, and it also doesn't appear to be just certain age ranges or sexes either.

She went to Crete the same time I did, but went off the beaten track , even knocking on the doors of Cretan people's houses to get the true experience.

I did wonder what the Cretan people made of her and her boyfriend rocking up...

How do people decide this is a good idea?! Why would you go anywhere in the world and knock on random people's doors? If someone did that to me, I think they were either a burglar or trying to sell me something.

I go every year for a girls jolly. We have a few nights drinking and enjoying the entertainment and a few days on the gorgeous beach.

I've also travelled extensively across the middle East, Europe, the fat East and the USA. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Wasn’t there a tv show where two opposite families had to take each other on their typical holiday? It was soooo funny to watch

The two extremes you’ve given are Benidorm in a mock English pub or a beach with armed guards and staff in poverty. Both are pretty naff.

There’s a middle ground - go to Spain and visit Alhambra for example. All the advantages of the Spanish EU protections and none of the worst of English behaviour.

See also: Stockholm, Norwegian Fjords, French Rivera, Italian Lakes. Not a fish and chip shop in sight.

What irritates me, and it’s already happening on this thread, is that there’s only worthy immersive (middle class) holidays or booze filled egg n chips (working class) holidays.

We’ve just been to Lanzarote, all inclusive, and not done anything remotely cultural or mind expanding. Neither did we see a single drunk person, British pub, or stereotypical “Brit abroad” 🙄 in the general vicinity of our very nice hotel. If you do your research, it’s incredibly easy to find a quiet part of any resort.

Are you writing a dissertation?

And what sort of holidays do you go on?

"customs and norms changed to suit British temperaments."

Like getting rid of child beggars, animal abuse, the chimps of spanish beaches.

A lot of the bull fighting has only ended because of tourists boycotting the towns.

Some places have had better sanitation installed and clean drinking water, to accommodate tourists.

It is a source of income and a reciprocal arrangement.

I'd say MC and UC tourism has done more damage to the planet, ecosystems and local lives, than the piss-up holidays.

Ooh, @MontStMichel - the Camargue?

We went this summer. It was amazing. Purple heron, night heron, great white egret, millions of flamingo, plus roller, bee-eater, hoopoe... fabulous.

Actionhasmagic, i loved that show.

What irritates me, and it’s already happening on this thread, is that there’s only worthy immersive (middle class) holidays or booze filled egg n chips (working class) holidays.
Not really.
Because not all working class people behave like larger louts who get drunk from 11am, speak slowly and loudly in English at people on the Spanish coast and expect mini Britain in the sun.

I do judge people who expect that.

Me and DP are off to Benidorm in November for a week. 5 star hotel, full board.
I’m going to do the following.
Eat food I don’t have to cook, buy or wash up after. THREE TIMES A DAY.
Sit at pavement cafes sipping coffee and munching on cakes watching the world go by.
Swim in the indoor pool several times a day.
Go out to some probably tacky bars and laugh at cheap comedians, drag acts and cheesy tribute acts and go to bed at 1am.
Find a sunny corner somewhere and feel some sunshine on my face.
Do nothing.
Go for adventures on the local bus/train and find some random cafe/restaurant where nobody speaks English and have lunch.
It won’t be a highly intellectual holiday but I’ll be off work, with DP and it’s 2.5 hours away. Bliss.
It won’t be eveyone’s cup of tea but so what.
And all for £299 per person.

I just don't see what's so wrong about the egg and chips.
Getting so pissed you get loud and offensive, yes, that's wrong.
But why is it any skin off anyone else's nose if a local restaurant owner has decided he can make more money selling all day breakfasts to tourists rather than local food?

I go on holiday for a variety of reasons - not all at the same time, different holidays with different friends and relatives
I also go abroad to visit family
With DD we swim n sunbathe
With DS it all involves eating and drinking
With DP could be a city break or activities or exploring off the beaten track
I also holiday with a friend who loves to shop
Another friend who likes museums and antiques hunting
Sometimes I go away on my own just to rest from my busy life, stressful job and caring responsibilities

bookwormsforever

No, Lesbos - the bee eaters there are also stunning! I think the highlight for DH was a blue rock thrush (I missed it)!

The Camargue sounds fantastic though!

No one should be looking down on anyone regarding the holidays they choose. You like what you like and if what you like is sitting on a beach in Magaluf for 2 weeks doing bugger all then so be it. My late DGF used to deem anyone who went anywhere else other than Blackpool to be ‘mad’, which was his way of thinking anyone who didn’t enjoy the same experience as he did was wrong.

Forgot to add I try not to judge other people’s holiday choices or food they eat
I like to try local cuisine - drink lots of coffee, usually consume more alcohol than I would at home, sometimes I just find a supermarket n live on salads cheese and cold meats

What I don't like is people expecting the world to change to suit them. British food everywhere, English spoken, customs and norms changed to suit British temperaments.

That sounds an awful lot like arguments I’ve heard against immigration into Britain to me, just from the other side of the coin

I’m sorry but what you just said was so boring, I kept zoning out when I tried to read it.

I gave up at the second attempt. It looks like text copied from a journal or the like.

I could not care less where people choose to holiday, I'm more interested in my own. If people enjoy Benidorm or Magaluf then good for them, it's their choice and quite frankly no-one else's business.

”but telling people that their vacuum is inferior to yours is silly”

But isn’t that exactly you did to @Kelsoooo, @Fuma? I’m sorry, but your OP strikes me as being very judgemental and groaning with reverse snobbery - which is no better than the snobbery you are criticising, IMO.

If you want to go to Magaluf for your holidays, crack on. I know dh and I would hate a holiday in somewhere really busy or noisy - we like nice scenery and interesting historical places to visit and wouldn’t cope with a busy, nightlife-type resort/holiday. When we go abroad, we try to get a real taste of the local culture - we try the food, try to learn a few phrases of the language and visit sites of interest/art galleries etc.

But that is our sort of holiday - we are all different, and what matters is that your holiday is fun and relaxing, and sends you home ready to face daily life again - it doesn’t matter if that involves sport or culture, or sun, sea and sand, or booze and nightclubs - or a mix of any of the above.

What you say is very true op. It’s a class thing and definitely about snobbery.
Unless you’re talking about Disney holidays, in which case all snobbery is valid.