Mayor of Riga criticizes drunken British tourists

The Mayor of Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the latest to speak out against the conduct of drunken British tourists abroad.

Nils Usakov said yesterday that the antics of drunken British tourists were putting off other visitors. He told a local magazine: "If we also had other tourists, then British visitors who piss about all the time would not be as noticeable. Let's not be politically correct – unfortunately, this is their speciality." One particular problem is stag parties urinating on the country's revered national monument. Last year one Briton was was sentenced to five days in prison for urinating on the Monument of Freedom causing Marek Seglins, Latvia's Interior Minister at the time, to hit out at the "English pigs" who visited Riga. In July this year two Derby men were extradited facing charges of assaulting a police officer while visiting Riga on a stag party. The Patricia tourist office, now refuses to deal with Britons. "I don't believe that these young men from Britain have any interest in Latvian culture at all. They are drunk by the time they get off the plane and they don't sober up again until they go back home three days later." Said Mike Johnson, the American who runs the office. He also spoke of the trend of urinating on the Monument of Freedom saying it was "deeply offensive" to locals and adding, "After one or two people were arrested, it became the thing to do: go to Riga, pee against the monument, take a photo and put it on the Internet. It's a very, very important monument in Latvian culture. It's sacred to Latvians, even the Soviets didn't dare touch it." The monument is a commemoration to those who were killed in the Latvian War of Independence and a symbol of resistance during the Soviet era. Paul Luke, eastern European sales coordinator of a stag party tour operator website, said that some years ago some unscrupulous bar owners had attempted to rip of tour parties, causing some instances of trouble, and blamed them for the reputation that Britons now have in Riga. His company organises between 150-175 stag parties in Riga each year and he said that they try to have "a little bit of something through the days to keep them out of the bars". The Latvian embassy in London's spokeswoman said, "Of course British tourists are welcome like any other tourists, even though it is true that they are better known because of loud behaviour and alcohol." Although she did add that they hoped tourists would look beyond Riga's bars.