Italians get distracted when they go on holiday and in the space of one month lose some 18 million euros on the beach, according to a recent study.
Drawn up by the Eta Meta Research roup, the study found that 71% of the beach personnel quizzed confirmed that many of their clients had reported losing their wallets and change purses.
After their wallets, the objects which Italians lose the most are, respectively, sunglasses, jewelry and watches, accessories like sandals and music players.
Next came house and car keys, cameras and video cameras, diving gear and cellphones.
Cellphone were the easiest to find, the study said, because owners could call their number and locate the ring tone.
Almost three quarters of the beach personnel interviewed, 73%, said they received complaints at least three times a day from distracted bathers, especially in the morning when people arrived on the beach and in the evening when they gathered their belongings to leave.
Once the holiday season is over, many Italian beaches are filled with treasure hunter equipped with metal detectors.
