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DRUGS AND RISK-TAKING
IN TOURISM
Natan Uriely
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Yaniv Belhassen
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Abstract: This study examines the issue of drug-use during vacation in terms of tourists’ vol-
untary risk-taking. Based on indepth interviews and observations at selected ‘‘drug tourism’’
sites, the study explores their perceptions of risk and related patterns of behavior. The find-
ings reveal that they are concerned with legal, social, and medical aspects of risk; they take
precautions to reduce it as associated with their behavior; and they perceive drug use as less
perilous in the context of tourism than in the routine of everyday life. Accordingly, the
study emphasizes the ambivalent nature of their voluntary risk-taking. Keywords: risk-taking,
drug use. Ó2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Re
´sume
´:Drogues et risques dans le tourisme. Cette e´tude examine la question de l’usage
de stupe´fiants pendant les vacances en termes de la prise de risques volontaire par les tour-
istes. Base´e sur des interviews en profondeur et des observations a` des sites choisis du <<tou-
risme de drogue>>, l’e´tude examine leurs perceptions des risques et des comportements lie´s.
Les re´sultats re´ve`lent que les touristes s’inte´ressent aux aspects le´gaux, sociaux et me´dicaux
du risque; ils prennent des pre´cautions pour le re´duire en association avec leur comporte-
ment; et ils conside`rent que l’usage des stupe´fiants est moins pe´rilleux dans le contexte du
tourisme que dans la routine de la vie quotidienne. En conse´quence, l’e´tude souligne la nat-
ure ambivalente de leur prise de risque volontaire. Mots-cle
´s: prise de risque, usage de
drogues. Ó2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION
Voluntary risk-taking is a behavior that involves individuals’ participa-
tion in activities that they perceive to be in some sense dangerous, but
are undertaken deliberately, and from choice (Lupton and Tulloch
2002:114). The issue of tourists’ voluntary risk-taking receives attention
in several areas of research, including backpacking (Elsrud 2001),
adventure tourism (Ewert 1989; Ryan 2003), sex tourism (Redmon
2003; Ryan 2000; Wickens 1997), gambling (Goffman 1967), and sun-
shine holidays (Peattie, Clarke and Peattie 2003). Most of these studies
are concerned with the question of why individuals are ready to take
risks while on vacation, which they might deny themselves in everyday
Natan Uriely is Chairman of the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at Ben-
Gurion University of the Negev (Beer-Sheva, Israel 84105. Email <urielyn@som.bgu.ac.il>).
Yaniv Belhassen is a doctoral student in the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their combined research interests include
sociology of tourism and leisure.
Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 339–359, 2006
Ó2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Printed in Great Britain
0160-7383/$32.00
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2005.10.009
www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures
339
life. The answers to this question often suggest that risk-taking tourists
perceive their holiday as a ‘‘license for thrill’’ (Wickens 1997:151). Spe-
cifically, these studies argue that tourism is perceived by people as a
framework of time and space that provides them with the opportunity
to feel less restrained and undertake adventures. In line with this pre-
mise, risk-taking tourists are often depicted as unrestrained ‘‘action
seekers’’ who perceive dangers associated with their practices as less
threatening when conducted in the context of tourism than when car-
ried out in their ordinary routines (Goffman 1967; Redmon 2003; Wic-
kens 1997). This perspective provides the study of tourists’ voluntary
risk-taking with valuable insight. However, it can be criticized for high-
lighting only one side in this behavior. While overemphasizing their
unrestrained conduct, it ignores mechanisms that might constrain
their voluntary risk-taking.
The assumption that the behavior of tourists who voluntarily court
danger is restrained to some extent, derives from the works of Beck
(1992, 1994, 1995) and Giddens (1990, 1994, 1998) about the emer-
gence of a ‘‘risk society’’, and from Elias’ perspective regarding the
ambivalent nature of the ‘‘civilizing process’’(1994). Specifically, Beck
and Giddens emphasized the increasing awareness of risk and worry-
level among peoples in this era of late modernity. Thus, it is reasonable
to assume that people’s awareness of danger would not be fully aban-
doned even when they engage in the relaxing ambiance of vacation.
This assumption complies with the concept of ‘‘controlled-decontrol’’
behaviors (Featherstone 1998), which derives from Norbert Elias’ dia-
lectic analysis of the civilizing process. In this regard, it argues that less-
ening control over behavioral standards in modern Western culture of
the 20th century goes together with a growing demand for individual
self-control (1994). These prominent conceptualizations of risk and
unrestrained behavior stimulate the interest of the current study in such
questions, as the extent to which the notion of tourism as a ‘‘license for
thrill’’ is embedded in tourists’ subjective perception of risk, and the
limit of their readiness to undertake it. These questions are addressed
in the current article, which examines risk perceptions and related pat-
terns of behavior among tourists using illegal drugs while on vacation.
While drug use is frequently conceptualized as a recreational activity
in the context of leisure and youth subcultures (Critcher 2000; Parker,
Aldridge and Maesham 1998; Saunders 1995; van Ree 2002), it is
underexplored in the context of tourism. Those studies that focus
on drug use address various issues, including motivations (de Rios
1994; Josiam, Hobson, Dietrich and Smeaton 1998; Sellars 1998; Uriely
and Belhassen 2005), sociocultural and demographic profiles of tour-
ists (Valdez and Sifaneck 1997); guest–host contact (de Rios 1994; Val-
dez and Sifaneck 1997; Westerhausen 2002); and the continuum of
leisure-tourism activities (Carr 2002; Clark and Clift 1994; Uriely and
Belhassen 2005). Yet, none of these studies addresses the behavior of
drug-using tourists in terms of the risk they assume despite the dangers
of violating national and international drug laws, transgressing social
mores, and disrupting the regulatory system of body and mind. The
needs to include the issue of risk in the study of ‘‘drug tourism’’ are
340 DRUGS AND RISK
addressed here, aiming to understand the readiness of drug-consum-
ing tourists to undertake the risks associated with their actions. In line
with this objective, the study attempts to provide answers to three ques-
tions: whether the tourists are aware of the hazards associated with
their drug consumption; whether they perceive the risks associated
with it as less threatening and possibly more appealing in the context
of tourism than in everyday-life; and what the limits of their readiness
are to engage in these risks during a vacation.
The answers to these questions derive from qualitative research,
which included indepth interviews with drug tourists and observations
in selected drug tourism sites. Based on the data obtained, the study
explores the meanings tourists assign to the risks associated with their
drug use and their related patterns of behavior. Specifically, this article
focuses on their stimulations, their concerns, and the strategies
adopted to reduce these concerns or elevate their notion of adventure.
The latter are manifested in both the safety measures drug-taking tour-
ists mention as those that should be taken, and their assessment
regarding the level of risk associated with drug use during a holiday
experience. The analysis adopts a social constructionist position toward
risk, which recognizes that people’s assessments of threat are mediated
through discourses, or social and cultural frameworks of understand-
ing (Elsrud 2001; Lupton 1999; Lupton and Tulloch 2002; Ryan
2003). According to this approach, the meanings assigned to risk are
considered to be dynamic, historical, and contextual, rather than
objective and constant. Thus, the analysis acknowledges the impor-
tance of the tourists’ discourse about dangers in the construction of
their subjective risk epistemologies. Furthermore, their assessments
of hazards are not evaluated in terms of rational and irrational or accu-
rate and inaccurate (Atkinson, Coffey and Delamont 2003). Neverthe-
less, by understanding the subjective perceptions of risk, attempts are
made here to provide practical suggestions through which the safety
of drug-using tourists could be improved.
DRUG USE AND RISK-TAKING
The literature review covers the existing body of research on tourists’
use of drugs and addresses sociological scholarship on their risk-taking.
In addition, the concepts of risk society (Beck 1992, 1994, 1995;Gid-
dens 1990, 1994, 1998) and controlled-decontrol behaviors (Elias
1994) are discussed here with respect to the main arguments. Specifi-
cally, these concepts are discussed in line with the papers’ attempt to
emphasize the ambivalent nature of voluntary risk-taking in the context
of tourism.
Drug Use in Tourism
Drug tourism is defined by Valdez and Sifaneck as ‘‘...the phenom-
enon by which persons become attracted to a particular location be-
cause of the accessibility of licit or illicit drugs and related services’’
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 341
(1997:880). This definition is too general with respect to the substances
referred to as drugs in the current study, which specifically focuses only
on drugs whose use, possession, or trafficking are illegal at the visited
destination. For example, while the use of cannabis within a coffee-
shop in Amsterdam would not fit the definition of drug use in this
study, its possession and trafficking would. In addition, the definition
presented by Valdez and Sifaneck (1997) is too narrow in terms of
those regarded in this study as drug tourists. Their definition is limited
only to those who conform to two characteristics: that drug consump-
tion functions as a major tourism motivation for users and that they
have previous knowledge about the accessibility of drugs at the chosen
destination. Such an approach, in which tourists are defined according
to their main motivation and preplanned activity, was recently criti-
cized with regard to the definition of sex-tourism (Oppermann 1999;
Ryan 2000). Specifically, the latter study suggests that the inclination
to reduce the definition of sex-tourism to the tourist’s main motivation
of engaging in commercial sexual activities excludes many cases and
settings in which this phenomenon occurs.
Similarly, Oppermann’s criticism regarding the notion of a sex-tour-
ist as ‘‘one who travels only for sex’’ is based on his assumption
that...’’the purpose of travel and the activities engaged in by the tour-
ist are rarely, if ever, the sole purpose and activity’’ (1999:256). In line
with this perspective, Uriely and Belhassen (2005) suggest that the
drug tourism experience begins with an awareness of the existence
of such substances at a specific destination and continues throughout
the acquisition processes and subsequent consumption. Accordingly,
tourists who are aware of the accessibility of illegal drugs in a particular
location and acquire and consume them during their stay are defined
here as drug tourists. This definition refers to both tourists who are at-
tracted to a specific destination through previous knowledge about
drug accessibility and those who become aware of this only during their
stay at a particular location. Moreover, this consumption is not neces-
sarily the major motivation for these tourists, only a byproduct of their
experience.
The issue of use of drugs while away from home was initially ad-
dressed by Cohen (1973) with respect to drifter-type tourism. In line
with his perspective, Westerhausen (2002) refers quite extensively to
the phenomenon of this consumption as a salient element of the drif-
ter subculture. Specifically, he focuses on the emergence of the bea-
ches of Goa in India and Koh Phangan in Thailand as sites that
attract backpackers who wish to engage in drug consumption. While
his study reports on this use at these destinations, it disregards the sub-
jective dimension of the experiences. However, these works focus on
drifter-style tourism rather than on tourists’ use of drugs, which ex-
tends to other forms of tourism as well. The issue of their use was tack-
led directly during the 90s in studies focusing on specific destinations
attracting drug-using tourists. For example, Korf (1995, 2002) employs
the term ‘‘drug tourism’’ to describe the arrival of foreign tourists to
the Netherlands for its liberal policies. These include young people at-
tracted mostly to the coffee shops where hashish and marijuana are
342 DRUGS AND RISK
consumed legally. Another population of drug tourists in the Nether-
lands is examined by van den Brink (1996) who refers to foreign her-
oin addicts attracted to the drug’s high quality, low cost, and the
healthcare provided in the country to addicts.
Additional destinations that draw the attention of researchers are lo-
cated in Third World or developing countries. For example, the arrival
of Americans and Europeans to the Amazon region to experience a
variety of hallucinogenic drugs is examined by de Rios (1994) and
Fischer (1993). In Central America, Valdez and Sifaneck (1997) focus
on the Mexican border cities in which US citizens arrive to legally pur-
chase prescription medicines, such as Valium, Rohypnol, Xanax, and
Codeine, for recreational use. Westerhausen (2002), in an ethnogra-
phy of drifter-style tourism, examines the rise and fall of drug destina-
tions in South East Asia, such as Goa in India and Koh Phangan in
Thailand.
The drug tourism literature addresses some of the issues that receive
a great deal of attention in studies, including motivations, sociocultural
and demographic profiles of tourists, and guest–host contact. In con-
nection with the motivations, an interesting version of ‘‘staged authen-
ticity’’ (MacCannell 1973) seems to be illustrated in de Rios’ (1994)
study of Americans and Europeans who arrive in Amazonian cities to
experience a brew called Ayahusca, a mixture of psychedelic plants.
As part of a search for an authentic personal experience, they engage
in a special all-night religious ceremony presided over by a local sha-
man who represents the exotic ‘‘witch doctor’’. However, it appears
that these native healers are in fact local drug dealers disguised as sha-
mans. In contrast to those searching for a uniquely profound experi-
ence, other drug tourists, such as US students on spring vacation
(Josiam et al 1998), British vacationers in Ibiza (Bellis, Hale, Bennett,
Chaudry and Kilfoyle 2000), and youth arriving at dance clubs in the
United Kingdom (Sellars 1998), are mainly characterized as fun and
recreation seekers.
Both the notion of drug tourists as fun-seekers and their portrayal as
those searching for profoundly meaningful experiences have been pre-
sented in a recent analysis yielding that drug tourism incidence is het-
erogeneous in nature (Uriely and Belhassen 2005). The findings of this
study, which derive from the same data as the current article, indicate
that many of those who searched for ‘‘deep meanings’’ had a first expe-
rience with drugs while on holiday. In contrast, the use of pleasure-
seekers was found to be an intensified extension of their everyday lei-
sure activities. Accordingly, Uriely and Belhassen join the position that
hedonistic tourist behavior is closely related to marginal cultures that
shape leisure (Carr 2002; Clark and Clift 1994). A tripartite typology
among drug tourists, based mainly on sociodemographic characteris-
tics (such as age and subcultural appearances), includes collegiate,
counterculture, and middle-aged adult tourists (Valdez and Sifaneck
1997).
Intriguingly, the issue of risk has been ignored in the literature, de-
spite the various hazards associated with this consumption and its pos-
session on vacation. This is surprising, particularly in that, as already
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 343
noted, drug-consuming tourists engage in activities that might disrupt
the regulatory system of body and mind, violate national and interna-
tional drug laws, and be considered morally divisive. Thus, a conscious
readiness to be exposed to the dangers associated with drug use can be
seen as a specific type of tourists’ voluntary risk-taking. Investigating
their consumption from this perspective provides additional insights
into both the study of drug tourism and the literature on risk-taking.
Risk-Taking in Tourism
The issue of risk is addressed by two separate lines of scholarship.
First are studies which focus on various aspects of risk that might re-
strain tourist activities (Lepp and Gibson 2003; Poon and Adams
2000; Roehl and Fesenmaier 1992; So
¨nmez and Graefe 1998), assum-
ing tourists are rational consumers with risk-aversion tendencies. Sec-
ond are attempts to explain the readiness of tourists to voluntarily
engage in risks avoided in everyday life (Elsrud 2001; Ewert 1989; Goff-
man 1967; Redmon 2003; Ryan 2000, 2003; Wickens 1997). Their
behavior is often explained in association with conceptualizations of
tourism as a legitimate departure from both the everyday behavioral
constraints and secure familiarity (Goffman 1963, 1967; Shields 1992;
Turner and Ash 1975). In this context, Turner and Ash (1975) suggest
that the temporary distancing of tourists from their regular environ-
ments allows them to suspend the power of quotidian norms and
values. Similarly, Shields refers to tourist-related spaces, such as
beach-side destinations, as ‘‘liminal zones’’ (1992:150) where social
constrains are suspended under the exigencies of tourism and of rela-
tive anonymity and freedom from community scrutiny.
Another contribution to the notion of tourism as an area offering
the opportunity to feel less restrained and undertake risk is derived
from Goffman’s (1967) theoretical approach of symbolic interaction.
Specifically, he uses the term ‘‘fancy milling’’ to describe the experi-
ence gained by an unrestrained participation in activities involving
an exposure to risk. Various leisure and tourism-related settings, such
as discos, bars, holiday resorts, casinos, and amusement parks, are re-
ferred to by him as ‘‘backspaces’’ (1963) or ‘‘action spaces’’ (1967),
where people are allowed or even encouraged to experience adven-
tures denied to them in everyday life. An excellent example of such
a quest for ‘‘action’’ is provided by Goffman in his analysis of the world
of gambling in Las Vegas. However, it is worth mentioning that he also
addresses drug-taking as another action-related conduct where the
‘‘experimenter uses his mind as the equipment for action’’ (1967:185).
The conceptualizations of Turner and Ash (1975), Shields (1992)
and Goffman (1963, 1967) constitute a theoretical framework that is
often implemented in empirical case-studies focusing on tourists’ vol-
untary risk-taking (Elsrud 2001; Redmon 2003; Wickens 1997). Sub-
jects in some of these studies appear to resemble the participants in
the current research in the sense that their risk-taking involves activities
concerning the ‘‘body’’, and issues of social morality. For instance,
344 DRUGS AND RISK
Wickens suggests that both freedom from public scrutiny and the quest
for ‘‘fancy milling’’ in ‘‘action spaces’’ explains the voluntary risk-tak-
ing of those who engage in unprotected casual sex at the beach-side
destination of Chalkidiki, Greece. Accordingly, these tourists are re-
ferred to as ‘‘licensed for thrill’’ (1997:151). Another example is pro-
vided by Redmon (2003) who depicts the event of Mardi Gras in
New Orleans as a themed backspace offering liminal license for people
to participate in temporary forms of transgression, including public
exposure of sex organs (flashing breasts, penis, etc.), masturbation,
oral sex, and penetrative sex in public with strangers. Clearly, the tour-
ists examined in these studies are depicted as uncontrolled action seek-
ers. Yet, to what extent their behavior is uncontrolled, or the limits of
their readiness to undertake the risks associated with their search for
action, are issues that go unaddressed in the literature. The call of
the current study derives from the assumption that tourists voluntarily
engaging in risky activities do not entirely disregard their own safety,
and their risk-taking is restrained to some extent. This assumption re-
lies on sociological theories, such as risk society (Beck 1992, 1994,
1995; Giddens 1990, 1994, 1998) and the civilizing process (Elias
1994), which stress the ambivalent nature and complexity of everyday
life in the era of late modernity.
Beck (1992, 1994, 1995) and Giddens (1990, 1994, 1998) write about
the emergence of risk society with respect to advanced industrialized
societies in the late modern era. While in terms of life threats (such
as disease, war, and food shortages), these societies are less dangerous
than in the past, they become progressively more unstable and inse-
cure in terms of individuals’ identity and achievements. Moreover, peo-
ple in the era of late modernity rely more upon themselves to define
their own destinies. Accordingly, these societies become highly aware
of, and concerned about, the dangers associated with individual choice
and responsibility. High levels of anxiety and insecurity produced by
heightened demand from the individual to regulate risk are empha-
sized by Lupton who argues that ‘‘life becomes less certain even while
it is placed more under one’s control’’ (1999:71).
By relying on these theories of risk in the era of late modernity, it is
assumed here, the high level of peoples’ risk consciousness would re-
main active to some extent, even when on vacation. This assumption
also relates to the concept of ‘‘controlled decontrol’’ behaviors (Feath-
erstone 1998:59), which derives from Elias’ dialectic analysis of the civ-
ilizing process (1994). In this context, Elias observes a certain
relaxation in control over the body and emotions. For example, he re-
fers to less refined standards of dancing, bathing habits, sporting cus-
toms, and sexual norms. This trend appears to contradict his general
argument regarding the direction of the civilizing process toward more
refined forms of behavior in modern Western culture. However, Elias
argues that increasing behavioral relaxations do not reverse the direc-
tion of the civilizing process, but remain confined within a frame-
work of ‘‘civilized standards of behavior’’ (1994:153). Specifically, he
suggests that lessening control over certain forms of behavior goes
together with a growing demand for individual self-control, thus
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 345
avoiding social breakdown. Similarly, increasing self-control among
individuals allows partial decontrol of various body-related disciplines.
The concept of ‘‘controlled decontrol’’ was recently utilized to ex-
plain the proliferation of drug use in advanced industrial societies, spe-
cifically suggesting that its increasing deregulation is possible in a
culture that demands high levels of self-control (van Ree 2002). The
current study utilizes this concept and the notion of risk society by
stressing the other side of the same coin, assuming that manifestations
of decontrolled behaviors in the context of tourism, such as drug use,
are restricted to some extent by individual self-control and the exis-
tence of heightened risk awareness.
Study Methods
This paper relies on qualitative research methods including inter-
views and observations conducted over the two-year period from
2000 to 2002. The main source of data is 30 indepth interviews con-
ducted with homecoming tourists who fit the aforementioned defini-
tion of drug tourists. The sample of informants included both
backpacking-style and mass tourists (Cohen 1972) to several destina-
tions. Eighteen informants reported on their experiences at
well-known destinations associated with drug consumption, such as
the beaches of Goa in India, the Thai island of Koh Phangan, and
the Columbian capital city of Bogota´, as part of a lengthy trip in South
East Asia or Latin America. Twelve informants spoke about their expe-
riences during short-term holidays at specific destinations. Some
purchased one- or two-week package deals to particular events, such
as full-moon parties in Koh Phangan, Trance-music parties in Ibiza,
and Rave festivals in Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Others
visited Amsterdam for a few days or took a short vacation on the bea-
ches of Sinai. Two informants reported on a 48-hour round trip
cruise-party from Israel to Cyprus. In addition to 24 Israelis, the sample
included informants from Europe and the United States. Informants
ranged in age from 19 to 32, of whom 19 were men and 11 women.
All had completed high school and by the time of the interview, about
half were already within university education. Informants were ap-
proached through snowball sample techniques, in which those
already interviewed were asked to facilitate contact with others. While
some of the initial ones were contacted through personal ties, most re-
sponded to announcements of ongoing research about drugs and
tourism.
Advertisements were published on various Internet sites, including
some promoting drug-oriented parties (Atraf 2003; IOL 2003); travel
websites (Lametayel 2003); and student websites (BGU 2003). Addi-
tional advertisements were placed on billboards located at several Israe-
li university campuses and travel supply stores in Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem. Clearly, the use of snowball sample techniques cannot gen-
erate a representative sample based on a random selection of subjects.
346 DRUGS AND RISK
Accordingly, no claims are made that the sample, in which most infor-
mants are Israeli, is representative of all drug-using tourists. However,
snowball techniques are useful in overcoming the difficulties of
approaching concealed populations such as drug users. By interviewing
30 informants, the study conforms to contemporary research based on
indepth interviews (Elsrud 2001; Hunter-Jones 2004; Hyde and Lawson
2003; Jeong and Santos 2004; Uriely, Yonai and Simchai 2002). More-
over, in compliance with conventional practice in qualitative research,
the interviewing process continued to the point where sufficient ‘‘sat-
uration’’ was reached in terms of the amount and variety of informa-
tion gathered from informants (Glazer and Strauss 1967; Strauss and
Corbin 1990).
Special attention was given to ethical issues, and the need to gain the
trust of informants in light of the sensitivity of the investigated topic.
Accordingly, each informant had a pre-interview meeting with one of
the researchers, in which the (academic) purposes of the research were
explained and confidentiality promised. While the interviewer revealed
familiarity with destinations, expressions, and terms common among
drug-taking tourists, he refrained from providing information about
his own involvement in the investigated phenomenon and from pass-
ing moral judgment. All indepth interviews were conducted in places
chosen by informants, mostly in their homes. They lasted from two
to three hours, with most closer to three. Respondents were requested
to speak unreservedly about their past and present experiences with
drugs in everyday life and in the context of tourism. Specifically, they
were encouraged to talk at length about a variety of issues, including
the locations and events at which they consumed drugs during trips,
their tourism motivations, the meanings they assigned to their experi-
ences, the patterns of drug acquisition and usage, their fears and con-
cerns, and any precautions they took. Informants were also a source of
secondary data gathered through the Internet. Specifically, some in-
formed the interviewer about websites in which relevant information
(locations and events of drug tourism, travel and drug usage warnings)
is publicized (Atraf 2003;Erowid 2002; Hqamsterdam 2003; IADA
2003; Interpol 2003; Kohphangan 2003; Rustlers 2002). All indepth
interviews were recorded and transcribed.
The conclusions of this article are also based on observations and
informal interviews. Fieldwork observations were carried out by one
of the authors at drug tourism sites and events in various locations,
including Israel, Egypt, Europe, and India. Specifically, observational
data were gathered from a ‘‘full-moon’’ party at Kassol, India; a two-
day stay at a guesthouse in Amsterdam, known as a meeting place for
drug tourists; and a four-day stay at Bir Sware beach in Sinai, Egypt,
where marijuana and hashish are intensively consumed. In addition,
a total of 19 informal interviews were carried out with local drug deal-
ers, law enforcement agents, organizers of Rave parties around the
world, and drug tourists approached mainly during observations. Since
formal interviews provided the best examples and quotes, only one of
the quotations presented below is derived from the informal inter-
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 347
views. Also, many of the patterns of behavior presented below derive
from informants’ accounts rather than observations. Yet data gathered
from the observations and informal interviews were important in
examining and validating the conclusions of this study. In this regard,
the findings from informal interviews and observations corresponded
with those from formal interviews. For example, informants’ state-
ments about their selective use of drugs were validated by observations
at various destinations. Accounts of law enforcement agents, organizers
of Rave parties, and local drug dealers, provided useful information
about this phenomenon in general. However, these accounts are not
included in the current paper, which focuses on the subjective percep-
tions of risk among tourists engaging in drug-consumption.
The gathered data were interpreted according to the researchers’
understanding. The empirical quality of such an analysis concerns its
ability to provide authentic metanarrative and convincing explanations
that tie the informants’ personal accounts with the theory applied in
the study (Riessman 1993; Seidman 1991).
Study Findings
The findings indicate that while the willingness to take risks of par-
ticipants in this study is related to their situational status of being tour-
ists, their voluntary risk-taking is self-controlled in line with their risk
awareness. Specifically, it appears that they associate their drug use
while on vacation, with legal, social, and medical aspects of risk. Strat-
egies adopted to reduce perceived threat include both safety measures
taken and participants’ tendency to associate drug consumption with
relatively low risk levels.
Legal Risk. The legal aspect of the informants’ perceived risk relates
to their concern about the potential consequences of violating drug-
abuse laws at the destination visited. In this regard, two practices were
specified by most interviewees as particularly risky: the process of pur-
chasing illicit drugs and the practice of smuggling them across interna-
tional borders. Accordingly, the precautions taken by drug tourists are
mainly related to these practices. For example, a 27 year-old under-
graduate Israeli who spent a year at various destinations in Latin Amer-
ica stated,
I admit it is very tempting to carry drugs from one country to another,
since you do not have to repeat the process of searching and buying it
in the new destination. However, I have a rule that says ‘‘you do not
cross borders with drugs’’. It is too risky especially in airports because
there is a good chance you will be searched. I think the felony of drug
smuggling is more serious than drug usage and involves severe
punishments. That is why I always got rid of my drugs before I moved
from one country to another. I tended to use a lot of it before I
left and gave leftovers to other travelers who stayed at my guest-
house.
348 DRUGS AND RISK
Safety measures are also taken in the drug purchasing process, which
involves elements of fear and excitement, illustrated in the accounts of
another 27 year-old Israeli who backpacked twice in India. This infor-
mant, who took pride in his experiences of purchasing drugs during
his trips, stated that
The first thing I have in mind when arriving at a new destination is
where and how I can get something to smoke. The process of buying
drugs is very delicate and requires some experience. One should
know where to go and examine the area before approaching someone
who looks like a dealer. There are always worries about undercover
agents or locals who collaborate with the police. In many cases, local
dealers take advantage of these concerns to sell low quality drugs or
get a better price. They might look around as if there are cops in
the area to make an approaching tourist more nervous and less
rational. As an experience traveler, I have reached the stage of enjoy-
ing this process. I take my time in examining the area closely before I
approach someone who looks reliable. Then, I try to appear as calm
as possible and start to negotiate the quality and price of the mer-
chandise with the dealer.
With the exception of drug purchasing and international border-
crossing, informants were hardly concerned about the consequences
of breaking drug-abuse laws at the visited destination. In this regard,
the most common belief held by informants was that being a tourist
protected them from the local police who, they believe, avoid enforc-
ing drug-abuse laws in such instances. This notion of the ‘‘untouchable
tourist’’ was often followed by the argument that local authorities are
reluctant to jeopardize economic benefits derived from tourism, so
explaining their tolerance toward these users. This attitude was
expressed by a 30-year old self-employed Israeli who frequently visits
Amsterdam and the Sinai Peninsula for drug vacationing. This
experienced individual, who also traveled to full-moon parties in
the Thai island of Koh-Phangan, House-music parties in the Span-
ish island of Ibiza, and Rave-related festivals across the world,
suggested,
Everybody knows that tourists who participate in these parties are
loaded with drugs. I noticed the presence of the police at most of
these parties, but I felt they were there to protect us rather than arrest
us. Partygoers do drugs in public without fear, as if they know the law
applies only to locals and not tourists. As long as you are within the
perimeters of the party and your behavior is ‘‘civilized’’, the cops
do not care what drugs you consume...There is a kind of ‘‘silent
agreement’’ between tourists and police at the destinations hosting
these parties...the tourists spend their money and their drug-taking
is tolerated. This is more evident in less developed countries, like
India, Thailand, and the Eastern European countries that host such
parties.
A similar notion of the untouchable tourist was expressed by a 24
year-old female informant whose visit to the Egyptian beaches of Sinai
included a first experience with marijuana:
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 349
Although the risk of being caught with drugs was in the back of my
mind, I was not afraid of the police. I was told that the local Bedouins
know who is an undercover cop and they always let you know if some-
thing goes wrong. It seems to me that the Egyptian police are aware of
the fact that for many of the tourists in Sinai, smoking drugs is part of
the attraction. The aim of undercover police activity is to catch local
dealers rather than disturb the tourists’ holiday. They do not intend
to cut the economic branch on which they make their living in this
area.
The findings suggest that the belief that local police avoid enforcing
drug abuse laws on tourists are mainly based on both the informants’
own experience and mouth-to-mouth accounts that spread among
them at drug destinations. The data also indicate that most of the study
participants were not familiar with local drug abuse laws or policy
changes in this regard. For example, none of the informants ap-
proached at the beaches of Sinai were aware of the severe punishment
(six months in jail) associated with the use of cannabis there.
Social Risk. The social aspect of the informants’ perceived risk in-
volves the concern that their use of drugs while vacationing might neg-
atively affect their social image and future opportunities when
returning to their native country. Such a concern was clearly evident
during an interview with a graduate student at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem. This informant, who had his first experience with hero-
ine during a visit to Thailand, appeared to be more concerned about
his social image and future career than health-related hazards associ-
ated with heroine usage:
Heroine is an amazing drug. Yet, the bad part of the experience was
the thought of the meaning and consequences of using such a hard
drug. After all, heroine is not marijuana, and I do not consider myself
a drug addict. I also thought about job interviews where you take a
polygraph test... What would I say in such an interview? What would
people think about a person whose has used heroine? The thought
that one moment of foolishness might harm future work and career
prospects disturbed me while under the influence of the drug and
some time after I became sober.
Similar to the above notion of the untouchable tourist, most infor-
mants held the belief that their status as tourists legitimized their use
of drugs and protected them from being labeled social deviants. The
interviews indicate that the social aspect of risk receives attention
mainly in situations of encounters among tourists who know one an-
other from home or returning ones who met one another during their
trip. The latter situation is exemplified in the following account of a 28
year-old female informant who spent three months on the beaches of
Goa (mostly at Anjuna beach):
About two years after my return from India, I went for a job interview
and realized that I knew one of the two interviewers from Anjuna
beach at Goa. I remembered she was one who hardly touched any-
thing other than some Charas (Indian hash) occasionally. I think at
350 DRUGS AND RISK
the beginning both of us were surprised and somewhat worried. I was
worried she might remember me as a heavy drug user, which was
quite an accurate description of my behavior at those beaches. Yet,
she did not mention the wild parties and my relative stardom there,
as if there is a silent consensus between fellow travelers who under-
stand that what is forbidden here is allowed there. I call it the ethical
code of Anjuna veterans.
A similar illustration of mutual understanding among drug-taking
tourists was expressed by an undergraduate student of physics who trav-
eled to Rave parties across Europe during summer vacation. Solidarity
among drug-taking tourists was evident in his story about the family
acquaintance that he met at a party at Ibiza:
I was under the strong influence of ecstasy when I unexpectedly saw
the son of my parents’ friends. I know him as a good guy about to
complete medical studies at university. At the beginning, I was
stressed by the possibility that he might notice that I am heavily
stoned. Yet, when we started talking, I realized he was worried about
the same thing. He kept saying how wonderful Ibiza is, and how every-
thing is permitted and people can behave in contrast to their daily
routine. There was no need to promise each other to keep the
encounter secret. We shared the idea that getting wild with drugs is
part of what tourists expect in Ibiza. This does not mean we have a
problem with drugs or anything like that.
Medical Risk. The medical aspect of the interviewees’ perceived risk
consists of their concerns about the physiological and cognitive dam-
age that might occur as a result of consuming drugs in an unfamiliar
environment. Within this category, the fear of irreversible cognitive
harm appeared to capture much of their attention. In this context,
many Israeli interviewees referred to a widespread story about a young
tourist who, as a result of intensive usage of various drugs, was trans-
ported back to Israel and committed to a mental hospital believing
he was a dolphin. The medical fears of informants, including the ‘‘dol-
phin’’ narrative, are illustrated in the following account of another
informant whose backpacking to South East Asia included a long stay
at the beaches of Goa:
My worries were related to the fact that I was in a Third World country
and away from home. You really do not know what will happen in case
of an emergency...How long will it take to evacuate a person to the
hospital what hygiene conditions exist there and what is the profes-
sional level of medical personnel?...I was also worried about the
effects of a bad trip. I heard about this guy who was taken from Anj-
una beach convinced he was a dolphin. I even met some people who
seemed to be ‘‘flipped over’’ from bad substances or over usage. This
is why I recommend buying hard drugs only from reliable sources and
not using them when you are not with friends.
As indicated in the above account, expressed medical concerns are
followed by precautions taken to reduce exposure to these aspects of
risk. For instance, obtaining detailed information about the physiolog-
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 351
ical and cognitive impact of substances to be consumed appeared to be
very important to the sample of this study. In this respect, the inter-
net and experienced users of a drug to be consumed during the trip
were mentioned by informants as common sources of such informa-
tion. Having previous experience of a substance expected to be con-
sumed during the trip, or avoiding unfamiliar types while traveling,
was mentioned by some informants as another way of reducing
health-related risks associated with drug use. For example, a female
informant spoke of her experiences during a two-week vacation in
Thailand:
The first time I smoked marijuana and hash was a few weeks before
my trip to Thailand. I knew that smoking these drugs is part of the
experience in the East, so I wanted to see what will happen to
me...Getting to know the drug and your body’s reaction to it in a
familiar environment was important to my peace of mind. I would
think twice before I experience a drug that I do not know in a foreign
country.
Although the effectiveness of these precautions might be ques-
tioned, they seem to reduce to some extent the actual exposure of
drug-taking tourists to health-related risks and, certainly ease their con-
cerns. Yet, they do not rely only on these precautions when making
sense of their voluntary exposure to the medical risks associated with
drug use. Similar to the way they understand their voluntary exposure
to the legal and social aspects of risk, they employ an interesting ver-
sion of the untouchable tourist perspective to reduce their medical
concerns. In this regard, the notion of tourism as a temporary suspen-
sion of normative behavior reduced the informants’ fear of becoming
drug addicts. For example, one informant was worried about the social
consequences of heroin consumption during his visit to the North of
Thailand and appeared to be less concerned about the risks of heroin
addiction.
I had never tried heroine before and to be honest with you, I was
quite nervous... But it was also very exiting. I felt that this is a ‘‘once
in a lifetime’’ opportunity to try heroine. I also took into consider-
ation the fact that my trip was almost over, and even if this drug is irre-
sistible, it would not be so easy to get after the trip. This thought
helped me overcome the fear of becoming addicted to such a hard
drug.
A similar attitude was employed by an informant who tried a halluci-
nogenic mushroom only on the last day of her trip to Southeast Asia,
and another informant who postponed his plans specifically so that
he could experience cocaine in Columbia on the final leg of a long-
term excursion to South America. These examples indicate that the no-
tion of the untouchable tourist is followed by actual precautions about
the timing of usage during the trip. Another type of belief held by
informants to reduce medical concerns was evident in their inclination
to evaluate drugs they used as less risky than those they have not tried.
For instance, the same informant whose statements about the use of
heroine were presented earlier, also claimed that
352 DRUGS AND RISK
A single experience with heroine and opium [another drug that he
tried during his vacation] or even infrequent usage of these drugs
is less risky than LSD, magic mushrooms, and even ecstasy. The chem-
icals and the hallucinogenic drugs might have a lethal impact on your
brain. I also know that you might see and hear things that do not
exist. It is too risky for me, and that is why I have never touched these
drugs.
Unlike this informant, a German female student, who admitted
intensive usage of a variety of drugs (with the exception of heroine)
during her quite frequent visits to Amsterdam, stated,
I have tried almost everything but heroine, which is the most danger-
ous drug. I know that ecstasy and LSD are chemicals that might be
produced in an uncontrolled lab, but these drugs are not addictive.
Heroine is a different thing; it is the end of the road...the limit of
what I am willing to experience even in the permissive atmosphere
that characterized my vacations.
The inclination of these informants to associate a relatively low level
of medical risk with their use is followed by actual precautions, includ-
ing the selective timing and use of certain drugs.
CONCLUSION
This study addressed the issue of voluntary risk-taking by exploring
risk perceptions and related patterns of behavior among drug-using
tourists. The research findings indicate that the informants of this
study associate their use of drugs while on vacation with legal, social,
and medical risks; possible arrest; stigmatization as a deviant; and
suffering irreversible cognitive damage, respectively. Accordingly,
the use can be seen as a specific version of voluntary risk-taking,
which is defined as an activity undertaken from choice, despite partic-
ipant awareness of its risky nature (Lupton and Tulloch 2002). By fol-
lowing previous attempts to understand voluntary risk-taking, the
main goal of this paper was to explain the readiness of the informants
experimenting with drug-use while traveling. As already discussed,
the literature relates the phenomenon of voluntary risk-taking
with peoples’ notion of tourism as ‘‘a license for thrill’’ (Wickens
1997:151).
Specifically, previous studies suggest that these tourists perceive their
vacation as an opportunity to feel less restrained and undertake risks
(Elsrud 2001; Goffman 1963, 1967; Redmon 2003; Shields 1992; Turn-
er and Ash 1975; Wickens 1997). This position involves two comple-
mentary observations regarding their behavior. First, they become
unrestrained action seekers, attracted by the thrill of adventure. Sec-
ond, they reduce fears by adopting the assumption that the activity en-
gaged in is less risky when conducted on vacation, than during routine
everyday-life. The latter is validated by the widespread belief in the un-
touchable tourist found among participants in this study. Specifically,
the findings reveal that they cope with their fears by believing that
being a tourist protects them from hazards, including the possibility
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 353
of arrest, being labeled a deviant, and becoming a drug addict.
However, the notion of risk-taking tourists as unrestrained action-
seekers is refuted by the rest of the research findings. In this context,
the findings provide little evidence that this was part of the motivation
to engage in drug-use while traveling. Furthermore, study results indi-
cate that while participants perceive this use as less risky when con-
ducted on vacation, they continue to restrain their behavior in line
with their fears. Specifically, the investigation reveals that to cope with
their concerns, tourists take precautions, including avoiding carrying
drugs during international border-crossing; being extra-cautious in
the acquisition process; seeking information about the physiological
and the psychological impact of drugs they intend to consume;
and being selective in terms of type consumed and the timing of the
usage.
The measures of safety that are taken by the tourists examined in
this study, whether effective or not in terms of their actual exposure
to risk, mark the limits of their readiness to engage in the risks associ-
ated with their consumption of drugs on vacation. Their concerns, and
subsequent precautions taken, also support the assumption of this
study that the heightened awareness of danger and level of concern
among people in the contemporary era of risk society (Beck 1992,
1994, 1995; Giddens 1990, 1994, 1998) is not fully abandoned, even
when tourists engage in the relaxing ambiance of vacation. By illustrat-
ing both the perceptions that encourage them to engage in perilous
practices and the precautions taken in line with their concerns, this
study emphasizes the ambivalent nature of tourists’ voluntary risk-tak-
ing. It argues that such a depiction is more complete than their por-
trayal as unrestrained action-seekers in previous research. This
perspective also complies with Elias’ (1994) dialectic position regard-
ing the ambivalent nature of the civilizing process in modern Western
cultures.
As discussed, Elias suggests that the seeming relaxation of restric-
tions imposed on peoples’ behavior in civilized societies involves a
growing demand for individual self-control. The use of drugs on holi-
day, as a specific version of voluntary risk-taking, appears to comply
with the notion of controlled-decontrol types of behavior. Accordingly,
the current study suggests that the dialectic notion of controlled-
decontrol types of behavior should be considered a useful premise
for further attempts to understand the linkage between risk and tour-
ism in general, and the issue of tourists’ voluntary risk-taking in partic-
ular. For example, such a perspective might place doubt on the
implicit inclination to make a sharp distinction between those who vol-
untarily engage in risk, and those who prefer to avoid it, by character-
izing the former as risk-seekers and the latter as risk-averse. The
findings of this study call for a more cautious approach in this regard,
which takes into consideration the ambivalent nature of attitudes to-
ward risk. Accordingly, it is possible that tourists who are assumed to
be rational consumers might also seek, to some extent, activities they
perceive as adventurous.
354 DRUGS AND RISK
This study might also be followed by practical implications regarding
the safety of drug-using tourists. In this context, the position stressed
here, that such people are concerned about their safety and perform
self-control rather than unrestricted action-seeking, is reassuring. Spe-
cifically, this finding leads to the assumption that drug-using tourists
might be open to practical suggestions about safety, rather than
remaining adverse to attempts to reduce exposure to risk. Another
encouraging finding is the inclination to search for information
regarding the threats associated with this usage. In this regard, the
findings comply with previous research on tourists’ perceived risk,
which suggest that the higher the perception, the more information
individuals seek, and the more rational their decision process becomes
(So
¨nmez and Graefe 1998). The findings also indicate that the infor-
mants tend to reduce their perceived risk by relying on subjective be-
liefs that define their drug consumption as less risky, and determine
the precautions taken.
Although this study avoids an evaluation of the tourists’ perception as
accurate or biased, their beliefs should be confronted by reliable and
up-to-date information about the actual risks associated with their
usages. For example, the tourists’ subjective ranking of drugs in terms
of medical risks should be tackled by posting reliable information about
the physiological and the psychological impacts of various substances.
Similarly, the belief that local authorities in popular destinations avoid
enforcing the law on drug-taking tourists should be addressed by up-
dated information about the legal status of this usage at their settings,
and actions taken in the past against such tourists. In this regard, West-
erhausen (2002) points out that the policy toward tourists who consume
drugs has dramatically changed in some of the most popular destina-
tions, such as Goa in India. Warnings about changes in policy and other
information regarding the hazards of drug-usage while traveling should
be posted in accessible channels, including Internet websites, travel
agencies, and travel supply stores that attract tourists who intend to visit
such known destinations. Another option for distributing information
was recently implemented by the Israeli Anti-Drug Authority, which
established an information and aid center designated for their national
backpackers in Manali, India.
Finally, this study provides direction for further research regarding
risk-taking and drug use in the context of tourism. Specifically, the
ambivalent nature of peoples’ attitude toward risk should be exam-
ined in other contexts beyond the use of drugs on holiday, and with
respect to tourists voluntarily engaging in avoiding risk. With respect
to the specific research areas, other issues are yet to be explored,
including the existing policies of local authorities and resident atti-
tudes toward the development of drug destinations, law enforcement
practices against users, and the impact of this type of tourism on local
populations.
Acknowledgement—The authors wish to thank the Israeli Anti-Drug Authority for their support.
URIELY AND BELHASSEN 355
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URIELY AND BELHASSEN 359
