Europe’s conflict on boozy Brits overseas: How resorts are cracking down

Holiday hotspots across Europe are hitting back at boozy Brits abroad this summer.

Crackdowns are happening at some of the continent’s leading getaway destinations – including new tourist taxes, Airbnb bans and even watering down the beer.

The moves come amid an increasingly angry and prominent backlash from locals who blame an influx of visitors for hiking up their rents and shutting down trade.

Graffiti telling tourists to ‘go home’ – as well as blunter language – has become commonplace in sun-dappled Mediterranean resorts across Spain, Greece and elsewhere.

Landlocked cities are also getting fed up with visiting Brits living it up on city breaks – and, often even more aggravatingly, raucous stag dos and hen parties.

Holidaymakers and travel firms insist there has been an overreaction – and pointed to the benefits in lavish spending on places reliant on foreigners’ spending.

Yet such is the wave of apparent anti-tourist sentiment, it seems some at least are giving their holiday habits a rethink.

Almost one in ten from the UK say they will even pretend not to be British when abroad these days, according to a new poll for language platform Babbel – while only a similar proportion admit to drinking more abroad than they would at home.

Babbel Live teacher Noël Wolf, based in Spain, said: ‘Many Brits will have seen the headlines about the anti-tourism sentiments in popular holiday resorts across Europe in the recent weeks and months.

‘To navigate these sentiments, it’s essential for tourists to be respectful whilst being abroad. One of the key steps is to respect local customs and traditions.’

MAJORCA – INSTAGRAM CRACKDOWN

New rules in Magaluf ban drinking in the street and buying alcohol from grocery stores after 8.30pm – with fines of up to €1,500 (£1,350) or rising to €3,000 (£2,550) for more serious behaviour breaches.

This summer’s clampdown comes amid furious protests by locals, not only taking to the streets but also occupying beaches to send away tourist visitors.

They have directed much of their anger towards Instagram influencers accused of dropping in for quickfire posed photos to share on their social media channels before sauntering off again – leaving debris strewn in their wake. 

Brits have also been seen skinnydipping on Magaluf beaches by day and taking over the resort’s bars and clubs by night. 

Last week jeering Majorcans blocked confused holidaymakers from accessing an idyllic beach on the island.

Video showed one woman sitting across a path leading down to the popular Caló des Moro cove while another local hollered at would-be tourists to ‘go, go, go!’

A fellow resident gestured at newcomers to leave, while declaring: ‘Tourists have taken over the beach – for one day, we’re going to enjoy it.’

More than 200 activists in total descended on Caló des Moro, a favourite spot of social media influencers and regular tourists alike.

One protester was seen wearing a white T-shirt declaring tourists on the Spanish island ‘b*****ds’.

Grassroots group Mallorca Platja Tour says online: ‘What Mallorcan man or woman would think of going to Caló des Moro on a summer Sunday?

‘Impossible! It’s full of Instagrammers who are just going to take a photo!’

About 15,000 locals marched through Palma to protest against what they said was ‘over-tourism’ – while boozy Brits crowding the beaches and streets of Magaluf highlighted as a factor behind the new drink bans and fines.

The strict new regulations also prohibit tourists from organising drinking parties in public, spraying graffiti, riding scooters and displaying nudity and are set to stay in place until at least December 2027.

COSTA BLANCA – NO MORE SOUVENIRS 

Elsewhere in Spain, Brits have been told they face £170 fines if they buy souvenirs from unlicensed sellers on the beaches and streets of Costa Blanca – while sunbed wars have also been breaking out.

Plain-clothed cops are on patrol to dish out penalties to unsuspecting tourists.

It is part of crackdown on illegal street sellers, known locally as ‘manteros’ or ‘top mantas’ because they typically display their goods on a blanket.

Holidaymakers handing over cash for illicit items such as fake ‘designer’ handbags or knock-off watches could also be slapped with an immediate fine of up to €200 which works out at about £170. 

And the mayor of the city of Torrevieja in the region has demanded more police officers during the summer to enforce the new rules.

There has also been pressure for similar action in the nearby southern region of Costa del Sol.

A local retail association says shop owners in the coastal town of Benalmadena are losing between 20 and 30 per cent of potential profits to unlicensed sellers.

The Spanish police force the Guardia Civilia recently seized several tonnes worth of counterfeit items from a warehouse in Elche, the surrounding province. 

A regional spokesperson said those good were meant to be bound for Torrevieja and the loss would be ‘noticeable’ by illegal traders.

But officials aim to step up police action along the coastline this summer, when the city’s population doubles to 500,000, after similar promises last year fell flat.

Meanwhile, there have been complaints about tourists hogging sunbeds at crowded resorts such as Benidorm. 

There have been reports of people queueing for hours before pools opened in a bid to secure a lounger.

Meanwhile, resorts in Greece are using drones to crack down on sunbeds ‘taking over’ the country’s idyllic beaches – with new rules dictating that umbrellas and deck chairs must be at least 4m from the sea.

Bars and hotels also need a licence to put loungers, umbrellas, tables and chairs out on beaches – with a large proportion of the seafront required to be free of them altogether.

As British tourists flock to Greece for their summer holidays, the authorities are using satellites, AI and an app to enforce the new rules and root out the ‘illegal’ use of sunbeds on thousands of the country’s beaches.

PRAGUE – STAG AND HEN BANS 

Czech Republic capital Prague is known for such sights as its statue-laden Charles Bridge, medieval Astronomical Clock, hilltop Gothic cathedral – and cobbled streets filled with stumbling stag do and hen party British revellers.

Now city chiefs are fighting back with a proposed ban on fancy dress outfits in the streets at least.

He said: ‘To date, neither Prague 1 nor the municipality has done anything at all regarding noise, vibrations and light smog to improve the situation of the remaining residents in the city center – nothing at all.’

Officials in charge of the central Prague 1 district have suggested ‘silly costumes’ should be outlawed as part of a push to combat tourist debauchery.

The move comes after the failure of previous attempts to crack down on noise pollution such as limiting the opening hours of firms in popular parts of the city.

Bronislava Sitár Baboráková, chair of the committee against depopulation and for supporting community life, said the costumes exceed acceptable social norms and have a negative impact on residents.

One local, Štěpán Kuchta, a resident of Dlouhá Street, launched a 10-day hunger strike in response to the ‘chronic noise’ in the historic central Old Town area.

He complained of it being almost impossible to sleep or live peacefully in his neighbourhood due to the commotion brought by tourists.

He said: ‘To date, neither Prague 1 nor the municipality has done anything at all regarding noise, vibrations and light smog to improve the situation of the remaining residents in the city center – nothing at all.’

UK visitors on jaunts abroad have also been targeted elsewhere in Europe, including in the popular Dutch city of Amsterdam.

Figures there launched a drive named ‘Stay Away’ which added special warnings about behaviour on booking sites when would-be revellers search using terms such as ‘stag party Amsterdam’ and ‘pub crawl Amsterdam’.

These highlight the ‘risks and consequences of anti-social behaviour and excessive drug and alcohol abuse’ including fines, arrest, criminal records, hospitalisation and health issues.

The city’s council said in a statement: ‘The campaign will comment in Great Britain, aimed at males in the age category 18 to 35 years.’

GREECE – CRUISE SHIP BAN

Some 33million people visited Greece last year, 5million more than in 2022, and including 7million arriving on cruise ships – yet these are now taking the blame for what even the country’s prime minister described as over-tourism.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis last week announced new restrictions on cruise tourism to popular islands such as Santorini and Mykonos.

The 7million cruise passengers coming into the country in 2023 were on 5,230 cruise ships, up from 4.38 million travellers on 4,614 vessels the previous year. 

But the new plans would cap the amount of cruise ship arrivals, with reductions in the supply of berths or anchoring slots, the Telegraph reported.

Similar action has already been taken elsewhere in Europe in cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona and Venice.

Mr Mitsotakis talked of fears that islands such as Santorini could be ‘swamped’ by tourists – without getting enough knock-on benefits.

Some local traders on Greek islands have complained that cruise ship holidaymakers contribute little to business.

Maria Dimitirou, a gift shop owner in the Santorini town of Oia, said: ‘They have everything on board – even souvenir shops – so they come here and just walk around and then go back to their boat without buying anything.’ 

Greece’s ombudsman also raised concerns last week about the impact of the growing influx of holidaymakers.

Its latest report stated: ‘In Santorini, even tourists complain about the great number of tourists.’

Santorini, which has a local population of 15,000 residents, now gets 5.5million visitors per year – double the number in 2012.

BARCELONA – AIRBNB BAN  

Anti-Airbnb feelings have reached such fever pitch in Spanish city Barcelona that mayor Jaume Collboni has vowed to get rid of all such tourist apartments by 2029.

If approved by the Generalitat of Catalonia, municipal governments will impose the ban on AirBnbs by refusing to issue new licences and not renew existing ones.

Rental prices in Barcelona have increased by about 70 per cent over the last decade, compared to the cost of buying a house going up by 39 per cent.

Mr Collboni believes his Airbnb  action will open up the market for more short-term lets and make Barcelona more affordable for young people who have been forced out due to soaring rents. 

He said last Friday: ‘We need housing supply to grow so that people do not have to move out of the city and so that housing prices do not rise and start to fall.’

A licensing system for AirBnbs was introduced in Barcelona in 2011 and four years later then-mayor Ada Colau barred property owners from letting out single rooms.

In a further crackdown on mass influxes, the Spanish city has lifted its ‘tourism tax’.

Travellers can now expect to see an extra €3.25 (£2.75) added to their accommodation bills for each night spent in Barcelona – the latest price increase to the extra tax first introduced three years ago.

Mr Collboni has spoken of wanting ‘to contain the number of tourists and increase tourist income because our model is no longer mass tourism but quality tourism’.

GERMANY – LOW ALCOHOL BEER  

England might be through to the knock-out stages, but the Three Lions’ performances on the pitch at Euro 2024 in Germany have lacked fizz so far.

And travelling fans also found something lacking in their pints, when only low-alcohol beer was allowed for their opening match against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.

Instead of being offered 4.8 per cent strength Bitburger Premium at the 62,000-seat Veltins Arena, England supporters had to make do with heavily watered-down lager.

Those cheering on Gareth Southgate’s men were deliberately targeted, officials revealed.

England’s 1-0 victory over Serbia was the only group game at the city’s Veltins-Arena in which fans would be served a maximum of two pints at a time of 2.5 per cent beer – which is half lager and half citrus soda.

Gelsenkirchen police spokesman Stephan Knipp said: ‘It is just the England game which will have the low-strength beer – the other games at the stadium will have 4.8 per cent.’

Another police source told the Sun ahead of the fixture: ‘The stadium beer will be the same per cent as a Radler made with sparkling lemonade, which you English call shandy. Authorities are trying to reduce risk.’

There had been fears of potential disturbances involving Serbian hooligans.

Ahead of kick-off, England fans also faced a drinking ban in Gelsenkirchen city centre including its main square, Heinrich-Konig-Platz.

Full-strength lager has been available since in other cities and stadia – although thirsty Three Lions fans were warned of a different issue ahead of last night’s final Group C clash with Slovenia in Cologne.

Reports have suggested that Scottish fans who saw their side draw with Switzerland in the city last Wednesday – before crashing out of the tournament in Stuttgart on Sunday – have almost drunk the bars dry, leaving supply shortages.