The Times — Fed up with wild and unruly Britons wreaking havoc in tourist hotspots, hoteliers in Crete’s most popular resort have blocked about 10,000 bookings from the UK to make way for families from elsewhere in Europe.
Officials in Malia say that the move is the start of a campaign to “reclaim” prized resorts from operators that promise young Britons hedonistic holidays full of binge-drinking, sex, drug-taking and partying.
Efthymios Mountrakis, the town’s deputy mayor, said: “We’ve given these tour operators a free hand in branding an image completely alien to what Malia really is. Malia isn’t about sex, drugs and ‘everything goes’. It’s the prime tourist destination in Crete, bringing in millions of euros to the island.”
Hotels and resorts are now giving preference to families from Russia, Sweden, Holland and other countries for a ‘better quality’ of customer.
At the same time, the numbers of contracts with British agents specialising in ‘drinking holidays’ have been halved in the last 5 to 6 years and were replaced by family holidays.
There is still a long way to go, but the municipal authority working together with local businesses and other local organisations to improve the situation said Mr Mountrakis.
