Saturday 2 January, 2010Safe sex on a budget

A SUMMER romance with a backpacker poses more risks than just a broken heart, sexual health research has found.

Data compiled by the Sydney Sexual Health Centre shows that backpackers are more likely to have more sexual partners, request the morning-after pill and have increased risk of sexually transmitted infections than sexually active locals.

"[Backpackers] are also more likely to have visited countries, such as in South-East Asia, where HIV is more common and where the most common mode of transmission is unprotected heterosexual sex," the centre's director Anna McNulty said.

The study has sparked a renewed sexual health campaign targeting budget travellers holidaying in Sydney. Posters and drink coasters displaying the safe-sex message have been distributed in backpacker hostels and pubs.