Popular European party city announces bar crawl ban

It's a favorite among alcoholic Brits on stag parties – but now Prague is changing the rules to attract quieter guests.

To reduce noise and disruption caused by drunken tourists, the Czech capital has banned organized pub crawls – in which participants follow a guide from bar to bar – from 10pm to 6am.

Jiri Posisil, one of Prague's deputy mayors, told AFP that the city “is looking for a more cultured and wealthier tourist… not one who comes for a short time just to get drunk.”

The official also notes that guides “have no objections to the ban.”

A document published by the Czech newspaper Ceske Noviny discussing the measures reads: 'Unreasonable alcohol consumption and disruptive behavior associated with pub crawling can create an impression of lack of sophistication in society.

“This may have a negative impact on the perception of the community by tourists, potential investors and citizens themselves.”

Since opening to tourism in the early 1990s, Prague has been synonymous with stag and hen parties, 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 center.

Vaclav Starek, head of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, welcomed the city's decision, commenting: “Going to the center in search of beer is a problem for both local people and other tourists.

I don't think it will hurt our sales. No one will be banned from going to the pub, but these organized pub crawls every night… that's nothing we need.

The city, together with Amsterdam, has already introduced a “beer bike” ban, and in April a councilor from Prague called for a ban on fancy dress that “goes beyond generally accepted social conventions.”

In this proposal, councilor Bronislava Sitár Baboráková stated that the outrageous costumes had a negative impact on residents and emphasized the impact on the elderly and children.

Prague is not the only destination taking action: last year Amsterdam launched a “stay away” advertising campaign aimed at young Brits aged 18-35, warning of fines, hospitalization and criminal records if they come looking for “sloppy” weekend.

At the beginning of this year, restrictions on alcohol consumption were introduced in the Balearic Islands. In popular party venues, including: in Magaluf in Majorca and San Antonio in Ibiza, the sale of alcohol in shops is prohibited from 9:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Hotels in this region have also addressed the problem of excessive alcohol consumption by introducing alcohol consumption limits at all-inclusive resorts.

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