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It’s a destination loved by boozy Brits on their stag dos — but now Prague is changing the rules in an effort to attract a quieter kind of visitor.
In a bid to clamp down on noise and disruption from drunken tourists, the Czech capital has banned organised pub crawls – where participants follow a guide from bar to bar – between the hours of 10pm and 6am.
Jiri Posisil, one of Prague’s deputy mayors, told AFP the city was ‘seeking a more cultured, wealthier tourist… not one who comes for a short time only to get drunk.’
The official also notes that guides ‘have ‘no objections to the ban at all’.
Outlining the measures, a document published by Czech newspaper Ceske Noviny read: ‘Unreasonable consumption of alcohol and disruptive behaviour associated with pub crawls can create the impression of a lack of sophistication in the community.
‘This can have a negative impact on the perception of the community by tourists, potential investors and the citizens themselves.’
Prague has been synonymous with stag and hen parties since it opened up to tourism in the early 1990s, mainly due to cheaper alcohol and flight prices compared to other European countries.
In fact, beer is cheaper than water in some restaurants and pubs throughout the UNESCO-listed centre.
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Vaclav Starek, head of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, hailed the city’s decision, commenting: ‘Trips to the centre in search of beer have been a problem for local people and for other tourists too.
‘I don’t think this will hurt our sales. Nobody will be banned from going to a pub, but these nightly organised pub crawls… are nothing we would need.’
The city, along with Amsterdam, has already banned ‘beer bikes’ and, in April, a Prague councillor called for a ban on fancy dress outfits that ‘exceed generally acceptable social conventions’.
In this proposal, councillor Bronislava Sitár Baboráková said that the outrageous costumes negatively impacted residents and highlighted the effect on elderly people and children.
Prague isn’t the only destination cracking down either: last year, Amsterdam launched a campaign of ‘stay away’ adverts aimed at young British men aged 18-35, that warns of fines, hospitalisation, and a criminal record if they come in search of a ‘messy’ weekend.
Earlier this year, restrictions on drinking alcohol were put in place in the Balearic Islands. In popular party spots, including Magaluf in Majorca and San Antonio in Ibiza, the sale of alcohol in shops is banned between 9.30pm and 8am.
Hotels in this area have also cracked down on excessive drinking by introducing alcoholic drink limits in all-inclusive resorts.
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