A cheeky campaign aimed at young holidaymakers is underway in popular resorts around the Mediterranean.
The Foreign Office has launched the “Don’t be a Dick” campaign in popular destinations including Majorca, Crete, Greece and Turkey to educate teenage and 20-something travellers of the hidden dangers of holidaying abroad.
The drive, part of the wider Foreign and Commonwealth Office “Know Before You Go” strategy (www.fco.gov.uk), features characters Tom, Dick and Harry, with Dick the holidaymaker finding himself in hot water abroad.
Messages such as “drinking makes you more vulnerable to violent crime” and “don’t get spiked! Keep an eye on your drinks” will be communicated via beer mats, leaflets, pocket cards, posters, frisbees and beach balls.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman, quoted by the Daily Mail, said the campaign was designed to grab the attention of young travellers in their teens and 20s.
“They are a hard-to-reach demographic and often things wash over their heads, so we need to target them in a way they will listen to.”
Foreign Office data shows that in Greece alone more than 70 per cent of consular cases concern those aged between 16 and 20, but these young holidaymakers account for just a third of all British tourists on holiday in the country.
