Stars on holiday - how PR plays a role in celebrity summertime breaks

By Annette Reuther Sep 1, 2011, 4:06 GMT

Berlin - There are generally two types of summertime snapshot. In the first one there are more or less attractive people to be seen getting a suntan in a crowd of other people doing the same thing. The second category of photo shows graceful looking women and athletic men having a good time on the deck of a yacht or beside a swimming pool.

This type of picture shows celebrities on holiday and could have been taken in Hawaii or in Saint Tropez. Summer is the time when VIPs get the chance to set themselves in a scene as part of a public relations strategy.

If you are not concerned about the invasive attention of the paparazzi and you want to place yourself in a good setting then France's Mediterranean coast is the place to be. The perfect blue waters of the Cote d'Azur, the enormous yachts and free flowing champagne are in abundance.

'The classic resort spots on the Mediterranean in southern France or Italy are still popular. Old Europe has a glamour factor especially for the stars from America,' says Alexander Stilcken, deputy editor at German society magazine Gala.

This year has already seen the newly married model Kate Moss, X-Men actor Hugh Jackman and Elton John with his partner on holiday. Paris Hilton is a regular in Saint Tropez and is fond of having herself photographed at parties in skimpy bikinis. If you come here your object is to get photographed. 'Kate Moss doesn't care if she's photographed diving into the sea. But it's a different matter for Bernie Ecclestone's daughter,' says Stilcken.

A few of the stars are good for a surprise or two while on holiday. Karl Lagerfeld, for example, was photographed without his trademark sunglasses in Saint Tropez.

Rapper Sean 'P.Diddy' Combs wanted to bring his own supply of vodka to France but was prevented from importing it by the customs authority in Nice, according to the magazine Closer.

German supermodel Heidi Klum was photographed topless on the island of Corsica. Was it by accident or design? No-one knows but the press reacted favourably to her perfect model body.

The sheer number of 'accidental' photographs of celebrities has led some commentators to the conclusion that the images have been staged.

Some well known people, however, do not look their best in their bathing trunks. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has been photographed looking rather pale-skinned beside a pool in Tuscany. Cameron, however, belongs to the category of political VIPs of which there is little demand for photos.

A few celebrities such as former Spice Girl Melanie C do complain about paparazzi attention.

'We all want to relax on holiday. I have a small daughter and I don't want to be followed by photographers,' said the pop star in interview with the German Press Agency dpa while recalling a vacation to Barbados. But anyone who is really looking for peace and quiet can find it in remote places.

Holiday resorts are very happy to have a few VIPs visiting their beaches. The Balearic Island of Ibiza manages to distance itself from its image as cheap holiday destination whenever a celebrity like Kylie Minogue talks about the wonderful light to be found there. Mallorca has also benefited from having Britain's Prince Harry visit its shores.

Some European countries are less suited as destinations for holidaymaking VIPs.

'There are hardly any places in Germany that can be sold as a destination for famous people,' says Stilcken. One of those places is the North Sea island of Sylt, which is popular with German celebrities, but rarely sees the international jet set.

A call to Germany's tourist association illustrates the point well: the organisation does not collect any data on visits from VIPs. Stars and celebrities do not play any role in marketing Germany as a holiday destination, according to the association.