"English Pigs" not welcome in Latvia - should we follow?

darkman2

Britons on stag parties to the Latvian capital of Riga will not be welcomed with open arms, according to the mayor of the city.

The city break destination has run out of patience with unruly British tourists who head to the city for boozy breaks, putting off other potential visitors, city mayor Nils Usakovs told a Latvian magazine.

Riga is one of a handful of central and eastern European cities popular with stag parties, including Budapest, Prague, Bratislava and Tallinn.

But rowdy parties in search of cheap beer are deterring a wider range of visitors as Latvia struggles to fight off a deepening recession.

Mr Usakovs told Rigas Laiks magazine: "The only problem is that we have a large share of those British tourists. If we also had other tourists, then British visitors who p**s about all the time would not be as noticeable. Let's not be politically correct - unfortunately, this is their speciality."

The biggest complaint is tourists who urinate on central Riga's Freedom Monument, honouring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence, according to the mayor.

Visitors have regularly been arrested and fined for relieving themselves on the 138ft-high monument, or climbing on it naked to pose for pictures.

Last year, the country's then interior minister, Mareks Seglins, hit out at "English pigs" for being a "dirty, hoggish people" after a British tourist was sentenced to spend five days in prison when he was caught urinating on the monument.

President Valdis Zatlers condemned his negative comments.

A spokeswoman for Mr Usakovs said Riga's problems started with the arrival of the first low-budget airlines, according to The Times.

The Times

Stag parties from Britain are the tourist scourge all over Europe. It's about time countries started talking about it openly IMO. If you have ever had the misfortune to be abroad, or in fact in Dublin, and come across big stag parties you would probrably agree with the Latvians. It's the lowest of the low in terms of tourist targets and it definately does bring down the image of a city that is popular with stag parties.

Should we ban stag parties?

*I blame Ryanair, personally.

phasers

No, they bring money into the country

My name is URL

No, let them spend their money here

If they cause trouble just bate them

super_furry

Ours are just as bad, if not worse.

darkman2

My name is URL wrote: »

No, let them spend their money here

If they cause trouble just bate them

But they tend not to have alot of money according to surveys. I read that a wealthy family taking a holiday would spend more then a whole stag party put together. I think that is also an issue. More people but less revenue and the problems to go with it.

super_furry

darkman2 wrote: »

But they tend not to have alot of money according to surveys. I read that a wealthy family taking a holiday would spend more then a whole stag party put together.

No chance. The money they'd spend on beer would be astronomical by itself.

K-Ren

Boo hoo Latvia, it's called the EU, get used to it.

procure11

darkman2 wrote: »

Stag parties from Britain are the tourist scourge all over Europe. It's about time countries started talking about it openly IMO. If you have ever had the misfortune to be abroad, or in fact in Dublin, and come across big stag parties you would probrably agree with the Latvians. It's the lowest of the low in terms of tourist targets and it definately does bring down the image of a city that is popular with stag parties.

Should we ban stag parties?

*I blame Ryanair, personally.

The title of of your post is kindda faulty...because it is certainly not just the English that partake in such ridiculous behaviour.
I agree with you that the British are notorious for this scrouge all over europe but the Irish tourists are not without blemish in this regard.

Bondvillain

darkman2 wrote: »

But they tend not to have alot of money according to surveys. I read that a wealthy family taking a holiday would spend more then a whole stag party put together. I think that is also an issue.

I wouldnt personally reckon that Dublin is high on the list of holiday destinations for wealthy families at the moment, to be honest.

Anyone who arrives here, spends cash and doesn't p*ss a huge amount of people off is quite welcome in my book.

Four-Percent

Sure we can always set the TCRG on them if they cause any bother...

brummytom

Boo! Hiss!
No, I wanna piss up in Temple Bar next year (out of interest, what's the age of drinking over there? Not that that's a problem :P)

Who the **** goes to Latvia anyway?!

darkman2

procure11 wrote: »

The title of of your post is kindda faulty...

Indeed but that is how the Latvian guy put it. Clearly pissed off it seems.

K-Ren

procure11 wrote: »

The title of of your post is kindda faulty...because it is certainly not just the English that partake in such ridiculous behaviour.
I agree with you that the British are notorious for this scrouge all over europe but the Irish tourists are not without blemish in this regard.

Well, at least our stag parties don't last 800 years.:)

darkman2

K-Ren wrote: »

Well, at least our stag parties don't last 800 years.:)

We have been urinated on for so long:(

LimeFruitGum

But aren't the stags and hens confined to certain pubs anyway, like Fitzgeralds and Break for the Border?
There are a few bars in town that don't let in Stags and Hens or will ask them them to leave if they're getting lairy.

galwayrush

feck then if they can't take a joke.:D

philologos

darkman2 wrote: »

Should we ban stag parties?

Stag parties aren't the problem, drunkenness is. Dealing with the actual problem is more effective.

Never had trouble with an English stag party over here.

I'm sure Irish people piss on monuments all over Europe every day. I'm sure there's an Irish person right now, somewhere in Europe pissing on some Monument or causing some sort of crazy drunken trouble while all the locals look on aghast..."Look at that English prick"

admiralofthefleet

phasers wrote: »

No, they bring money into the country

exactly, cream them for every penny they have

to the tune of their national anthem:

'god save their glorious queen,

she hasnt got a bean'

Schism

brummytom wrote: »

Boo! Hiss!
No, I wanna piss up in Temple Bar next year (out of interest, what's the age of drinking over there? Not that that's a problem :P)

Who the **** goes to Latvia anyway?!

Don't know which your talking about but it's 18 for both so, yeah, there you go

brummytom

Schism wrote: »

Don't know which your talking about but it's 18 for both so, yeah, there you go

How strict are the bouncers?

galwayrush

brummytom wrote: »

How strict are the bouncers?

You mean the Latvian bouncers working in Temple Bar?:D

Kinetic^

No. 1 reason - Essex girls!

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

North side Dublin, bad parts of Limerick stags behave far worse in Europe IMHO.

stovelid

When abroad, we're all so abstemious and culturally-sensitive, of course.

TCRG

darkman2 wrote: »

Stag parties from Britain are the tourist scourge all over Europe. It's about time countries started talking about it openly IMO. If you have ever had the misfortune to be abroad, or in fact in Dublin, and come across big stag parties you would probrably agree with the Latvians. It's the lowest of the low in terms of tourist targets and it definately does bring down the image of a city that is popular with stag parties.

Should we ban stag parties?

*I blame Ryanair, personally.

We did. We stopped them coming to Temple bar .

Schism

brummytom wrote: »

How strict are the bouncers?

Emm... I still get asked for I.D. by the same bouncer going into a club I've been going to for almost 5 years, maybe he just doesn't like me

They're strict enough though but it all depends on where you're going I suppose.

admiralofthefleet

georgiecasey wrote: »

North side Dublin, bad parts of Limerick stags behave far worse in Europe IMHO.

eh?

brummytom

Schism wrote: »

Emm... I still get asked for I.D. by the same bouncer going into a club I've been going to for almost 5 years, maybe he just doesn't like me

They're strict enough though but it all depends on where you're going I suppose.

Ah Fúck.. what happened to laid-back Ireland? :P

Looks like I'll have to find that bloke, I.D Fake


Not really, that would be illegal
>.>
<.<

TCRG

why has my screen gone all black?

Schism

brummytom wrote: »

Ah Fúck.. what happened to laid-back Ireland? :P

Looks like I'll have to find that bloke, I.D Fake


Not really, that would be illegal
>.>
<.<

Go to Portugal, no drinking age iirc.

Ok that's it, I'm done hijacking the thread. Sorry OP.