Avoid public sex in Muslim countries: UK tells citizens

“The Foreign Office is worried that increasing numbers of tourists will get into trouble abroad as they the travel to less traditional holiday destinations and fall foul of local laws and customs,” the Guardian newspaper said.

Acors, 34 and Michelle Palmer, 36, were found guilty in October of having sex on the beach in Dubai, which despite its pro-Western outlook still adheres to certain Islamic rules and bans sex out of wedlock.

A Dubai appeals court last month suspended a three-month jail term but the two were ordered to pay a USD 270 fine for drinking alcohol and ordered expelled from the country. After the deportation orders they returned home on December 24.

“If people don’t research their destinations before they go, it could do more than spoil their holiday. What’s normal in reports in Spain or Greece are not necessarily acceptable in Turkey or Egypt,” director of consular services, Julian Braithwaite said.

The number of Britons going to Egypt this year has increased by 38 per cent and those going to Turkey has gone up by 32 per cent and similar rises are expected in 2009 as more Britons look outside the Eurozone to make their holiday money go further.

Warnings about modesty are also given to those planning to visit the Kenya coast and rural areas of Malaysia.