Why holidaying women have only one thing on their mind

... and no, it’s not being first to bag that sun lounger by the pool

THEY may claim to be passionate about tasting the local cuisine and taking in the sights.

But when it comes to holidays, women, it seems, have something else on their minds.

A sunshine trip abroad is seen by many as a chance to improve their love lives – and try out new moves in the bedroom, an academic study has found.

For those with a steady partner, a relaxing beach break is ideal for a little sexual experimentation and offers the most opportunity for making love, the study found.

Those who are unattached and looking for a little romance, meanwhile, are better off joining group tours and sightseeing trips.

The study suggested single women were more likely to take sexual risks on holiday than at home, with alcohol giving them Dutch courage and a psychological excuse to transcend their ‘usual sexual boundaries’.

Wearing revealing clothing and visiting holiday spots with ‘permissive, party- oriented social atmospheres’ promotes an altered sense of r eality t hat makes women feel less inhibited, the academics said.

Some women even considered sexual experimentation and conquests as holiday essentials – offering erotic thrills as well as a sense of empowerment and, for some, ‘ bragging rights’ on t heir return home.

Liza Berdychevsky of the University of Illinois and Heather Gibson of the University of Florida set out to identify what triggers women taking sexual risks on holiday, as well as their motivations and likelihood of doing so.

Professor Berdychevsky said holiday settings made women more likely to engage in sexual activity than at home.

She said: ‘Perhaps in everyday life we are so overscheduled and disciplined that once we find ourselves in a situation where there is no schedule and no social control, and the only time we have to keep in mind is the departure of our plane, i t releases us f rom many of our psychological barriers and inhibitions.’

The research paper, published in the journal Tourism Management, was based on a survey of more than 850 women aged between 18-50, with the majority having a university education.

Taking a group tour for several days across Europe or somewhere tropical was the preferred option for those women hoping for holiday romances or passionate flings.

The authors wrote: ‘The group tour, being a semi- safe bubble, offers relatively brief but intense interaction to its participants through sharing bus rides, meals, and various touristic activities.’

They said it provides ‘a pool of safe strangers ( who might be potential sexual partners), along with a ‘testing ground for various forms of self-exploration.’

Being on holiday also offered women a sense of anonymity, the researchers said.

This was ‘a key factor for women to act out sexual fantasies seen as off-limits at home’.

‘Barriers and

inhibitions’