Abstract
For most young people from wealthy families or the upper middle classes in the Gulf monarchies, Europe is not, contrary to the stereotype, a peculiar summer destination for individual eccentricities. While clichés portray young Gulf women on designer shopping binges or young men drinking to excess, chasing ‘girls’ and stocking up on luxury goods, most holidays prosaically reproduce the leisure practices and the behaviour practised in the Gulf countries during the rest of the year. For these young people, holidays abroad are first and foremost a family affair (with certain variations depending on the family): they are spent in the company of parents, brothers and sisters (whether married or not), as well as grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts – and families often bring domestic staff with them, such as the Filipina nanny or Egyptian driver. Moreover, going on holiday is seen as a necessity to escape the sweltering heat of the Gulf during the summer months.
