Brits heading to the Spanish island of Majorca for an adult-only summer break may face alcohol restrictions in the authorities’ latest bid to clamp down on rowdy drunken tourists.
The city council of Palma, Majorca’s capital, has approved a regulation ordinance for public spaces after receiving complaints from locals about tourists – largely British – drinking, stripping down in public and having sex in the streets.
“This ordinance will not solve all the problems but gives tools to the police to work on. We hope that it helps to improve coexistence in the main leisure areas,” British media cited councilor for security Angelica Pastor as saying.
Residents of Palma have been increasingly worried that children were witnessing such behavior, and that raucous tourists have damaged the resort’s image.
“We will tackle excess tourism and these new regulations will help to improve our image,” said Palma’s Mayor Antoni Noguera, encouraging all tourists to “act responsibly” and respect the city as a tourist destination.
Under the new regulations, there will be zones of special tourist interest, where law enforcement can act more efficiently.
“This ordinance aims to intervene against the excesses of tourism where alcohol is the main activity and gives Palma a bad image. We have some blackspots in Palma that we can put in quarantine. We have allocated many resources to Playa de Palma and this ordinance is a very powerful tool to improve the city’s fate,” the mayor said.
Breaches of the new regulations, banning the sale of alcoholic beverages after midnight for consumption outside, as well as sex in public spaces and walking around naked, would be punishable by fines of between 100 ($117) and 3,000 ($3,510) euros.
Earlier this week, the regional government in the Balearic Islands, which include Majorca and Ibiza, announced their plans to limit the amount of alcohol offered at airports, having identified Palma and Ibiza-bound flights from UK and Ireland as problematic.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
