The research topic myself and my group were initially interested in- ‘how the morals of individuals change, dependent on the laws and culture of the country they are in’- has remained the same. Although there is little to no literature based on this topic linked to Amsterdam, there is interesting insights into morals and holidays in more general terms.

Briggs (2013) delves into the holiday culture of Ibiza; his findings generate that the mass majority of individuals attending Ibiza are doing so to ‘make up for lost time’ (58). They set out to live up to the nightlife, by partaking in a week-long ‘bender’ that they can no longer do at home due to the culture of adult life in England. These findings suggest that in our research we may find the reasoning behind a change in behaviour, or willingness to do something, may be due to the want of doing it in England but the stereotype and negative connotations attached to it- e.g smoking weed.

Briggs, D. (2013) Deviance and Risk on Holiday: an ethnography of British tourists in Ibiza, Palgrave: NY.https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ljmu/reader.action?docID=1330933

Mura (2010) conducted a study on the Greek island Ios; the study set out to find out about young tourists and their involvement in risky behaviours. The findings show that the younger generations go on holiday to ‘let oneself go’ (39) they engage in risky behaviours such as excessive amounts of alcohol intake, drug taking, and sunbathing in the nude; behaviours which may be considered irrational or deviant in the UK. When questioned further as to why they partake in acts perceived as a risk the general response was that they were on holiday, so although they are aware of the risks, they are just getting involved with the party island culture. The willingness to engage in risky acts when abroad reflects our research question, the change in culture and laws changes the perception of how the individual sees the act, and therefore alters their likelihood of engaging in the act.

Paolo Mura (2010) ‘Scary … but I like it!’ Young tourists’ perceptions of fear on holiday, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 8:1-2, 30-49 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14766825.2010.482209?scroll=top&needAccess=true

From a brief literature review, it is clear to see that young people tend to leave their everyday morals behind in the UK when visiting a tourist destination. From the writings on tourist culture and behaviour i believe it is safe to predict that in my groups research project we will also see this pattern.