British revelers abroad will have to pay more for consular service

British revelers abroad will have to pay more for consular service

	Published : Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:25 By : Cedric Benson Print this Story

LONDON: Britain's foreign office is planning stiff action against the behaviour of some British tourists abroad, mostly while participating in stag and hen parties. It intends to cover more cases in which the defaulters will be required to pay for the help British embassies and consulates would offer when things go wrong.

During 2004-2005, the foreign office, which offers travel advisories and support to the citizens of the country when they travel abroad, had levied fees for its services in 323 out of 84,000 assisted cases, the public accounts committee said in a report. Consulates are allowed to charge 84.50 pounds an hour for assisting Britons but this power is rarely used.

The committee's chairman Edward Leigh said the country's consular staff had to deal with "the appalling results of British tourists carousing abroad".

"Where our nationals have landed themselves in trouble as a result of their own irresponsibility, the foreign and commonwealth office should not hesitate to charge them for its services," he added.

The report said the number of overseas visits by British citizens had gone up by 6 per cent to 65 million in 2004-2005 and nearly 13 million Britons are living abroad. It blamed the growing number of no-frills airlines offering cheap flights for the increasing anti-social behaviour by holidaymakers.

The report said hen and stag parties, mostly held abroad, were a growing problem. Studies by the foreign office research suggested that 24 per cent of the participants in these parties faced problems.

A foreign office spokesperson said most of these parties are held in cities like Barcelona, Amsterdam, Prague, Dublin, Paris and Tallinn in Estonia. And one out of four such parties "turn into horrors" where the concerned consulate is contacted directly by a stag party or by the police.

Giving out details of the nature of problems, the spokesperson said half of the requests for assistance in 2005 involved lost or stolen money, a third involved illness or injury and a quarter concerned arrests mainly for being drunk and disorderly.

The foreign office wants to ensure that those who are in genuine trouble when abroad, like being victims of theft, get proper assistance and they do not have to pay.

Online bank Egg has come out with a report showing Britons spent 430 million pounds in 2005 on trips abroad for hen and stag parties. Each person spends an average of 551 pounds and one in five partygoers lose valuables, 10 per cent will have items stolen, 17 per cent will need medical attention after sports or drunken accidents, and 4 per cent are likely to be arrested, the report said.