Nooooo, we all get fined, Spaniards and foreigners if got pissing by the Police, I know many people who experienced that. BUT, through the (in)famous botellon (ice cubes bag, bottle of spirits, bottle of soft drink and plastic glasses) and our good weather, young people got used to drink a lot in the streets and piss anywhere available when drunk. It's been such a big movement that authorities tried to concentrate people in areas, when ban it was not effective. Not something to be proud of, but all younger generations have gone through that. More than cultural is an ethilic experience.

Obviously we did not teach tourists to vomit in the streets. Nor we do not care at all if they do. But if Brits/French/Germans come to Spain because we got that niche of tourism that others refused (party place) since we relied on cash from tourism, are they really to blame more than us? In addition, we all have done it at some point, so even if they do it massively, it’s harder/a contradicition for us to complain. Well, if we don’t like it, then we should ban it, but not complain and get their money.

If Latvians were heavy drinkers and you could see drunken Latvians in the streets, other drunken foreigners shouldn’t be perceived as more offensive than locals… as sometimes happens, otherwise it’d be pretty susceptible. I know the line is pretty thin and the issue tricky, but that was my/our point.

I agree, if you prevail from the fact of coming from a rich country, being a X passport holder so that you don’t respect the local rules, then I complain. Furthermore, IMO you should give example, if locals throw papers on the streets, you don’t do it. Same as feeling proud of having bribed someone or having been arrested for a stupidity; you wouldn’t do at home, don't do it elsewhere.

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I agree, if you prevail from the fact of coming from a rich country, being a X passport holder so that you don’t respect the local rules, then I complain. Furthermore, IMO you should give example, if locals throw papers on the streets, you don’t do it. Same as feeling proud of having bribed someone or having been arrested for a stupidity; you wouldn’t do at home, don't do it elsewhere.

or, as is pertinent to those of us on here, driving too fast and inconsiderately in other peoples countries. I get very annoyed by people thinking they are Colin McCrae (insert your own choice here) just because they are off road.

I was dismayed to read a report in Ride magazine where the journo went on an organised trip to Morocco. It was with a group of Italian bikers who seemed to get great enjoyment from pulling wheelies everywhere and crossing the terrain as fast as possible, like they were on some kind of endure rally. The (English) Journo seemed to think that was quite ok, and rather fun, although it is behaviour that would earn you a driving ban in this country. They also satisfied their own subconscious guilt by handing out sweets to the local kids. This is the kind of behaviour that gives travellers a bad name and will lead to increased restrictions on where and how we travel.

Although it doesn't make it any less embarrassing to me, as estebangc says above I do feel the Spanish resorts rather bought the problem on themselves by encouraging those types of people to come to them for their holidays, as did Prague with Stag parties. They are now trying to get away from that as they have decided they don't like it, but really, what did they expect by selling themselves as a stag destination with cheap booze and a cheap and available sex industry?

I think people maybe notice the embarrassing behaviour of their own countrymen more when abroad because they 'zone in' on the familiar language.

Perhaps it is just in France then?

I do recall the first time I went to use a toilet in a pub in Belgium wherein there was just the one facility for male and female; it was designed so that any female entering the facility would walk directly past the "pissoir stalls" for the males; vive la difference (cultural)!
There was no embarrassment on the part of anyone present at the time.

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Dave