Benidorm has always sold itself as a place where you can let your hair down.
With its sun, cheap pints and late-night food, it’s the classic budget escape for thousands of partying Brits.
But it seems a worrying new trend is emerging.
Increasingly, British holidaymakers, mostly men, are getting themselves into such a state that they trigger full-scale missing-person scares, only to turn up days later after sleeping off a hangover or disappearing on a secret bender.
The worried posts from family members back in Blighty send social media into overdrive, while relatives prepare to fly out, fearing the worst.
And then, the missing person is suddenly found and the search is called off, much to the relief of everyone involved (although we are seldom told the embarrassing details).
The problem is that such incidents run the risk of dulling the urgency of genuine missing persons cases.
With Brits ‘vanishing’ multiple times a week, a future emergency could be shrugged off as being ‘just another partying sesh’.
Aside from this, many tourists don’t realise that Benidorm is not the safest place to get absolutely obliterated.
The Costa Blanca resort has well-documented issues with ‘hugger-muggers’ – pickpockets who target drunk tourists with a friendly embrace before stripping them of phones, watches or wallets.
Then there are the organised groups who prowl around looking for easy victims i.e. stumbling foreigners, alone, confused and intoxicated.
People have been robbed, beaten, and in some cases lured into vehicles or alleyways because they were too out of it to realise what was happening.
That isn’t the fault of Benidorm, it’s the reality of many busy nightlife cities, but it makes the current behaviour among some British visitors especially reckless.
The solution isn’t complicated. Tell someone where you’re going. Keep your phone charged. Don’t disappear for 48 hours without sending a message.
And if you’re intent on drinking until you can’t remember your name, at least stick with your group and avoid wandering around alone at 4am.
Brits have every right to enjoy a night out, but some need to start taking basic responsibility for themselves.
