Their ideal break appears to revolve around clubbing, having sex and taking drugs. Planning is minimal and visiting places of cultural interest is way down the agenda.
The findings are revealed in a report commissioned by the Foreign Office to gain an insight into the mindset of 16 to 30- year-olds travelling abroad.
The loutish antics of some have already given Britons an unenviable reputation in Mediterranean resorts such as Faliraki in Greece, Ayia Napa in Cyprus and Ibiza in the Balearics.
However, the report, based on interviews with 1,000 people, suggests that Britain’s image could be further tarnished as more holidaymakers can afford overseas travel.
It is a worrying prospect. The collision of the genetic inheritance of the Viking invasion with cheap air fares seems to have produced a 21st century version of holiday pillage. And, armed with the research, the Foreign Office wants to prepare its staff abroad to deal with it.
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Tourists from the West Midlands top the league of party animals. Almost 60% of them go clubbing while they are abroad, compared with a national average of 47%.
While 15% of young tourists told researchers that having sex was a priority, this rose to 29% among those from the West Midlands. The Welsh are the least interested in having sex, with just 5% citing it as a primary reason for going on holiday. They are also the least likely to go clubbing abroad.
The report reveals that tourists from the West Midlands are more than three times more likely to take drugs than the national average. However, they are the least likely to drink to excess. That crown goes to the northwest and northeast.
Ben Jones, an 18-year-old student from Birmingham, spent his last holiday in Cyprus with friends. “Most of the time my mates just drank and smoked weed,” he said.
“A few nights my mates got laid — they were single and away from everything. Holiday is like stepping out of the shadow; it’s a release and there is no pressure.”
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Kate Measures, 27, a human resources executive from Birmingham, recently spent a week in Ibiza, going clubbing most nights. “The cost of living in Birmingham is lower than in London so young people have disposable incomes to spend on holidays, but they are just an extended version of what we get up to at home,” she said.
“You are open to new things and have fewer inhibitions and everything just seems better when it’s hot and sunny and there’s nice eye-candy.”
A third of respondents agreed with the statement: “I usually end up doing stupid things but it doesn’t matter because it’s all part of enjoying myself.” The figure was higher for men (41%) than women (25%), and was greatest among the 16-20 age bracket (43%).
Of these tourists, nearly a third go swimming when they are drunk and more than a quarter have casual sex — with the Welsh likely to be the worst culprits in both cases.
One in five Londoners admits that he or she, or someone they have been on holiday with, has been treated for an alcohol-related accident, compared with a national average of 12%. Young holidaymakers from the northeast and Scots are the most likely to be arrested.
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Beach holidays are the most popular with young Britons, with the highest proportion of sun-worshippers from the northeast. Those from Yorkshire and Humberside are the most likely to read when abroad and are the most fastidious about observing local customs and laws.
Those from the southwest appear to be the biggest culture vultures, with 44% going to visit historic and cultural sites. The West Midlands accounts for the lowest proportion of tourists (18%) in this category.
Rachel Johnstone, 28, from Wellington, Somerset, is at present enjoying a fortnight’s break in Sardinia. Johnstone, a regional manager at a learning charity, said: “ I want to take in the local culture, not see signs where it says ‘English breakfast served here’.
“I want my foreign holiday experience to be edifying, as it puts life back at home into perspective.”