Positive news but improvements can be achieved

Positive news has reached us during this winter break. Fewer students – only 900 compared to 8,000 the previous years – have chosen to go to Prague. The in general xenophobic population down there did send a message to tourists stating that they were not welcome in their town.

Still – 900 are too many. This number needs to be dropped so the students can party in Denmark where the taxation and the revenue from the sale of alcohol will benefit the Danish citizens and the industry which produce it. It is really a question about maintaining the employment rate.

Hopefully 2016 would be the year no Danish student will go abroad. There never was any cultural or internationally benefit from these trips. The marketing material provided from the Hotels showed a country without nothing other but pubs, bars and disco parties too offer. It was that culture which sold the Czech Republic and it proved to be false marketing.

It is kind of sad that the 900 students will experience a bad week but it is with these trips like Nigerian scam letters. There will always be some victims. It is question about informing the consumers hoping to make them aware of the dangers but you will never reach them all.

These years with many students abroad will result in a political reaction later this year where the Danish voters will be asked to enter a closer relationship with the European Union regarding police work and extradition processes. The shameful process where some students were sentenced to pay for damages despite the fact that they had escaped the Czech Republic has resulted in a massive outrage against any closer co-corporation with the European Union. It seems that something good would come from the ordeal the Danish students have been put through down there.

But for now we will just enjoy the fact that the Danish students will buy Danish when it comes to spending money on their winter break.

Bulgaria wants back to the good old communist rule

According to various sources in the tourist industry the citizen in the parts of Bulgaria serving the tourism industry had expressed wishes about returning to the good old days when the country was under communist rule and become an isolated state.

Fact is that Bulgaria has beaten Ibiza as one of the most popular vacation places in Europe.

There is no reason at all to visit Bulgaria unless you will attend a binge drinking party. This country has nothing else to offer.

But it is not all.

Tourists who are so unlucky that they get ill during their holiday should be very careful as there are doctors and entire hospitals down there which will try to fool the patients to buy extra treatment not covered by the normal travel insurance.

That is worrying because Bulgaria has been targeted by students who want peace and quietness while they study for their finals. Various travel agencies are arranging holiday packets targeted against young students.

I would be very careful and not chose Bulgaria for my next holiday. If you have your health as a high priority, I guess you will avoid Bulgaria as well.

Sources (In Danish)

• Bulgarske hoteller vil af med danske druk-turister, by Anne Louise Leth, Politiken, August 31, 2011


• Bulgarske læger trækker danske turister i retten, by Anne Louise Leth, Politiken, July 8, 2011

If you want your stuff protected against tourists, then write a sign

A Danish student accidently broke a rock at some kind of ruin down in Rome. For some reason the local population saw this rock at something special and he may risk a fine if the school has neglected the task of providing their students with a good insurance.

We can only ask why they didn't set a sign up not to touch the rocks. In Denmark we did choose to protect the Jelling Stones behind glas because some paint got on them.

It is not a nice way to treat guest - students who came to their country to learn about their culture.

The Danish schools should avoid Italy as the population seem to hostile against foreigners in general. American Exchange student organizations have already lawyered up in response to the Amanda Knox case where a young student was held on false charges for 3 years based on the fantasy of a convicted State Attorney.

The Danish schools should follow the example of the US organizations if they want to continue to travel to Italy. Otherwise the family of the students should demand that their school refrain from traveling down there.

Source:

• Dansk elev smadrer antikvitet i Rom (TV2 Nyhederne, In Danish)


• Danneggia il foro romano denunciato studente danese (La Repubblica, November 3, 2011)

This must be the last year

Once again people cannot settle by enjoying the good money they earn by having Danes visiting.

They want the Danes to buy a lot of alcohol and then they expect the Danes to throw it out and drink milk instead so they don't have to take the consequences. The people living around Les Arcs are angry because their sales come with a cost. What kind of business doesn't cost connected to the sale.

It has to stop at some point. All the young Danes do are partying while they travel. It is quite normal. In fact the Sun spoke of a cultural difference hitting Brits as xenophobia when they visited countries in the Middle East.

The solution is clear. We need to create a party holliday area where the young people can go and enjoy their holliday. They are working on such a solution down at Falster. Maybe next the youth traveling abroad for holidays or to take a course down in Marienlyst where the new party aread it built.

References:
1.700 danske unge 'larmer som dyr' og raserer skisportssted, by Andreas Lindqvist, Politiken, February 19, 2011 (article in Danish)
»Når man samler 1.700 unge, går det jo ikke stille af sig«>, by Andreas Lindqvist, Politiken, February 20, 2011 (article in Danish)
Boozy Brits go wild in Dubai, by Nick Carter, The Sun, 12. july 2008
Marielyst skal være det nye Sunny Beach, by Marta Gramstrup, Folketidende, 13. februar 2011(article in Danish)