Perhaps not every one of the 200,000 young Irish people heading off on holidays to the big European resorts over the next eight weeks will have sex, drugs and alcohol on their minds. The combination however of sun, freedom and non-stop dance music in holiday resorts favoured by 18 to 35-year olds means most of them will at least be tempted.
Ibiza, Playa del Ingles, Santa Ponsa and Tenerife are the biggest destinations for that age group and, thanks to programmes such as Ibiza Uncovered, most people know exactly what to expect when they get there.
A study by academics at the John Moores University in Liverpool published last week suggests that 43 per cent of British visitors to Ibiza who used the drug ecstasy, took it on five or more days a week while staying on the island. Only 3 per cent used the drug with the same frequency at home.
A quarter of the people interviewed in the departure lounge of Ibiza airport had sex without a condom and 23 per cent had more than one sexual partner during the holiday. Nearly 10 per cent had to see a doctor or go to hospital while on the island.
Adrian Kennedy, a disc jockey for Dublin radio station FM 104, will do his annual live summer show from Ibiza tonight. He says he was taken aback by the availability of drugs when he was on the island last year.
"There's no way of putting a gloss on it, there are drugs . . . it surprised me a bit," he said. However, he found that most young people to whom he spoke for his show last year said they were practising safe sex. "Yes they were shagging, yes they were having fun, but they were having safe sex."
Sex and drugs are not the only reasons 18 to 35-year olds flock to Ibiza. "The thing that makes it so different is the choice of clubs. They are the best in the world," Irish DJ Robbie Butler argues. Mr Butler, who plays at the PoD in Dublin, visits Ibiza at least once a year. "Every year is different," he says.
Not all Ibiza clubbers indulge in drugs, he insists. "It's available but it's not in your face. A lot of people go over and drink their faces off - I'd be one of them - but won't take drugs," he says.
The British study of Ibiza holiday-makers complained that advice in brochures, hotels and from holiday reps on the dangers of drugs and unprotected sex is "absent or ineffective".
Prof Mark Bellis, who led the team which carried out the study, said: "Often holiday packages to resorts such as Ibiza trade on images of long nights with high levels of alcohol consumption and the potential for new sexual partners.
"If companies are going to promote the sort of holiday that attracts people for sex and sub stance use, then they should be thinking about the health protection measures that go with them," Prof Bellis said.
While Irish holiday reps alert travellers to the legal implications of taking drugs and provide information on general health and safety, they insist it is not their job to preach to adults. "We wouldn't see it as our position; we're not anyone's mother," says Ms Mary Sullivan, Budget Travel rep in Majorca.
Travel reps wouldn't necessarily be aware of those taking drugs; most problems which do come to their attention are drink-related, she said.
Young Irish holiday-makers tend to travel with a lot of money, she said, and consequently they get involved in activities like beach parties and excursions as well as clubbing.
Panorama Holidays is considering an offer from Sky television for their young people's tour, Club 25, to take part in a programme similar to the Ibiza Uncovered series. However, a spokesman for the holiday company said: "We're a bit iffey about being branded by taking part."
There are signs that Ibiza's popularity may be on the wane and that other destinations, such as Ayia Napa in Cyprus, will challenge the Spanish island's ascendancy as the fashionable holiday destination for clubbers. Many observers of the travel industry are amazed that Ibiza's status as the number one holiday spot for young clubbers has lasted. Even if Ibiza's popularity does decline, though, debaucherous holidays in the sun will always be in fashion for 18 to 35-year olds.