There are entire Franchises Which Shall Not Be Named centered around respectable women getting buckwild on vacation. It was only a matter of time until someone did a study on the repercussions of all those lowered inhibitions. Now, thanks to professors Liza Berdychevsky and Heather Gibson of, respectively, Universities of Illinois and Florida, we’ve learned that women underestimate the risk of the casual sex that occurs on vacation.
The professors surveyed 853 women with an average age of 23 – that delightful age where you’re not quite a spring breaker, but still don’t consider the full weight of your decisions. The full study, available in Tourism Management and summarized in MedicalNewsToday, aims to recommend ways that tourism boards can combat risky travelers’ behavior.
The research reveals what many travelers and lucky hostel employees already know – that vacation prompts an alternate sense of reality in tourists. Add alcohol to the picture, and women report feeling more “sexually confident” (good!) and “overestimat[ing] the protection of condoms” (very, very bad.)
Party destinations like Sydney already have posters that remind tourists to practice safe sex, which we can all agree is both smart and hilarious. The researchers recommend the U.S. follow suit.
Berdychevsky tells MedicalNewsToday, “Once we agree there’s a need for these awareness programs, the challenge will be prioritizing the audiences to be reached and constructing effective messages.”
