Only the British behave worse than us on holidays

THIS might be the land of a thousand welcomes but countries hosting Irish tourists can't wait to see the back of us.

According to research by an internet travel service, only the British are less welcome in foreign holiday hotspots.

The study asked tourist offices in 17 of the most popular international holiday destinations to rate visitors under such categories as politeness, behaviour and generosity. Our tourists stumbled in at second-last place alongside Israel, with Britain trailing just behind in 24th place.

One of the worst failings of the Irish abroad is our public decorum, with the worst behaviour expected from ourselves, the British and the Danes.

Tourists from Germany were adjudged the best behaved beating the respectful Japanese and Spanish and were also voted best all-round holidaymakers. The Germans also did well in categories for attempting the local language and being polite, but they were chosen as the meanest nationality.

Expedia.co.uk sought the views of tourism officials in popular sun destinations, such as Bangkok, Cyprus, Ibiza, Majorca and Tenerife. They also quizzed holiday centres in main cities like London, Paris, Prague, Edinburgh, Rome, New York and Sydney as well as Dublin.

The British fared very poorly, judged to be rudest, and least likely to try either the local language or cuisine.

Dermot Halpin, managing director of Expedia.co.uk, said British holidaymakers are some of the most widely travelled in the world, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're good at it. "A little effort goes a long way and, as much as it pains me to say it, perhaps the Germans actually deserve to get the best sunbeds," he said.