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Boozy Brits warned of Balearics’ alcohol crackdown
The regional government of the Balearic Islands has passed a bill clamping down on alcohol-fuelled holidays in resorts that have a reputation for rowdiness and excess drinking.
Happy hours, free bars and the advertising of pub crawls are now illegal in the West End of Sant Antoni on Ibiza and Playa de Palma, El Arenal and Magaluf on Majorca.
The law, which was drawn up in consultation with the tourism industry, also bans two-for-one drink offers, prohibits the sale of alcohol in shops between 9:30 pm and 8am and forbids advertising party boats in the designated areas.
In addition, there will be no new licences granted for party boats.
The regional government of the Balearics said the law, which stiffens measures already introduced in 2015, will ‘fight excesses in certain tourist zones’ and ‘force a real change in the tourism model of those destinations’.
“This is the first law adopted in Europe which restricts the sale and promotion of alcohol in certain touristic areas,” the regional government said.
“It will have a considerable impact outside of Spain.”
Tourism minister Iago Negueruela described the move as ‘an exceptional law for a particular area and a specific problem’.
Establishments that break the new rules risk fines of up to €600,000 euros and the threat of being closed down for three years.
The ban on ‘balconing’ – when holidaymakers jump from a hotel or apartment balcony into a swimming pool – which has already been in place in some resorts, has been extended across the whole region. Anyone who flouts the rule will be fined up to outs the rule will be fined up to €60,000.
British tourists have helped make such resorts notorious holiday getaways. Magaluf, for example, has been nicknamed ‘Shagaluf’ because of its reputation, while UK officers from the West Midlands joined local civil guard patrols in Magaluf and Sant Antoni in an effort to curb anti-social behaviour.
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Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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