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Wednesday 29 August 2012

Brits can’t abide sun lounger hoggers but half of hypercritical Brits get up early to bag a bed


Brits can’t abide sun lounger hoggers but half of hypercritical Brits get up early to bag a bed
 
While there is no rule book, everyone has their own idea of what counts as acceptable behaviour on the beach and around the pool. TripAdvisor has delved into the minds of us Brits to find out what really gets on our nerves when it comes to the unwritten rules of beach and pool etiquette and the results are in.

In a survey of over *8,000 British travellers we uncovered that despite 84% of Brits believing it to be unacceptable to get up early to reserve a sun lounger, 46% of Brits admit to ‘reserving’ a chair by the pool to avoid the morning rush. And contrary to popular myth, 90% of German travellers also agree the practice is unacceptable, yet only 21% claim they make a dawn dash to secure a poolside seat.

The survey also reveals the top three most annoying beach and pool etiquette violations, according to British travellers:

1.    Littering
2.    Blasting loud music
3.    Inconsiderate divers who make a splash

Public intoxication came in fourth place as a beach and pool etiquette bug bear, with sun-lounger hogging the fifth biggest frustration for British travellers.

Unfortunately, pool hygiene is not such a concern for British travellers - 60% of respondents claim they don’t shower before swimming. Brits aren’t always child-friendly when it comes to sharing the beach either, with 35% saying they would like to see child-free zones.

“While there is no official beach and pool etiquette handbook, it seems that holiday-makers have a very clear list of unwritten rules when it comes to how to behave”, says TripAdvisor spokesperson, Emma Shaw. “And while sun lounger hogging in the past has often been blamed on other nationalities, it appears British holiday-makers are just as guilty.”

 *survey carried out on 8,239 Britons, between 8th and 22nd June 2012