Advertisement

Austrians love to get nude on the beach

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Austrians love to get nude on the beach
An Austrian couple on a beach - but is he wearing shorts? Photo: APA

For the first time Austrians have tied with Germans as the holidaymakers most likely to sunbathe fully nude on the beach. They also enjoy napping on the beach and have no qualms about donning tight-fitting Speedo-style briefs.

Advertisement

A report from travel site Expedia.com questioned 11,165 adults, 18 years of age and older, across 24 countries about their behaviour and preferences when on the beach.

Twenty eight percent of German and Austrian beachgoers reported having spent a day at the beach in the buff.

Worldwide, beach nudity is more common among men (18 percent) than women (six percent). And toplessness is a largely European phenomenon, with Austrians (49 percent), Spaniards (42 percent) and Germans (39 percent) the likeliest to take part.

Twelve per cent was the global average for beach nudity, while 20 percent of female beachgoers worldwide have spent time topless at a beach.

Asian beachgoers are typically more modest -  only two percent of Japanese, three percent of South Koreans and four percent of Thai beachgoers have sunbathed nude.

The beach is the most popular destination for travellers. More than one half (56 percent) of the study’s respondents took a beach holiday in the past year.

Nap time

Sleeping was cited as the top beach holiday indulgence, with 46 percent of global beach-goers saying “sleeping in/napping” was a typical indulgence, followed by spending more than normal on food (42 percent), eating more food than usual (41 percent), intimacy with a partner (38 percent) and shopping for things other than clothes (34 percent).

At 69 percent, Austrians were the world’s likeliest to prioritize a snooze.

74 percent of worldwide respondents consider "budgie-smuggler” style briefs to be acceptable beach attire. A full 95 per cent of Brazilians approve, followed by Austrians (94 percent), Germans (91 percent) and Spaniards (91 percent).

Acceptance was lowest among Norwegians, with only 40 percent approving.

More than half of the world’s beachgoers would “never” post a photo of themselves in swimwear of any type.

Forty-four per cent of respondents worldwide express anxiety around sharks, with beachgoers from Brazil, Hong Kong, and Malaysia expressing the most fear.

Expedia’s 2014 Flip Flop Report can be found at viewfinder.expedia.com

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also