A recent spate of anti-tourist protests have taken hold in Majorca, and news has just gotten worse for holidaying Brits.
The island of Majorca is continuing to fight its image crisis after thousands of locals took to the streets in an effort to deter an invasion of hell-raising holidaymakers this summer. Now, the party destination has now also been crowned “cheat capital” of Europe this week in a poll from married dating website Illicitencouters.com.
New research released has revealed UK holiday-goers consider Magaluf the best destination for a cheeky holiday fling. The poll asked 2,000 Brits to vote on the cheating credentials of 10 of Europe’s most popular holiday hotspots – ranking a list of the most popular holiday destinations from best to worst.
READ MORE: Magaluf rolls back strict anti-party laws in boost to boozy Brits this summer
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It even out-ranked Benidorm (2nd), and the Greek island of Zante (3rd). Last year, 1.9 million Brits headed to Magaluf for a sun-soaked break filled with booze and debauchery. But the destination is fighting an image crisis right now, as locals and authorities battle off the invasion of misbehaving Brits hoping to head there and pull this summer.
According to relationships expert Jessica Leoni, from Illicitencounters.com, Magaluf has a lot more work to do to shift its image – and pointed to the reason Brits are more likely to cheat abroad than at home.
Leoni said: “Alcohol, sun, and the sense of freedom you get from being in a different place are the perfect storm when it comes to a holiday fling. Proximity is a major reason people cheat whilst abroad.
“If you’re thousands of miles away from your partner, it’s inevitable there is a heightened belief that you can get away with it. Being abroad and out of the daily grind also means people feel freer and that can fuel cheating.
“Magaluf has been famed for its boozed-fuelled breaks for decades, and its popularity with stag and hen dos is another reason it is still considered a mecca for cheating. Meeting fellow big groups on holiday where alcohol is flowing is the perfect combination for flirting which can easily lead to intimacy with a random lover.”
Another recent study revealed a staggering one in five Brits had cheated on their partner while on holiday, as previous research from Illicitencounters.com revealed 62% of Brits don’t think cheating abroad counts as “cheating”.
When it came to gender split, interestingly, 77% of men didn’t think playing away while on holiday counted as “real cheating”, whereas their female counterparts took a much more strict view, with only 27% believing the same.
Authorities in Spain previously clamped down on wild behaviour from tourists. But this week, there appears to be a bit of a turnaround in Magaluf.
Booze-fuelled Brits heading to the holiday destination could be in for a wild summer as local authorities have suddenly cut back on tough “tourism of excesses” laws. From June 1, officials in Calvia – the municipality where Magaluf is located – performed a U-turn, cutting down the area affected by the strict rules in the resort town by a massive 90%.
The crackdown is now pretty much limited to the infamous Punta Ballena, also known as the raucous Magaluf Strip. The conservative Partido Popular and right-wing Vox, now calling the shots in Calvia, are behind the shrinking of the no-go zone, claiming it’s a win for local businesses.
The top 10 cheating holiday destinations
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Magaluf, Spain
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Benidorm, Spain
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Zante, Greece
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Ibiza, Spain
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Ayia Napa, Cyprus
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Zante, Greece
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Mykonos, Greece
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Berlin, Germany
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Barcelona, Spain
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Amsterdam, Netherlands
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