In an attempt to put some limits on binge-drinking tourists and reduce the frequent fatal incidents, Spain’s Balearic Islands banned pub crawl tours and happy hours in three holiday hotspots on Friday in a string of new measurements included booze vending machines, party boats and free bars.
Adverts for alcoholic drinks were also forbidden in Mallorca’s Playa de Palma and Magaluf, as well as the West End in Ibiza’s Sant Antoni.
According to authorities; tourists will be banned from buying alcohol in those areas between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The new regulations also outlawed “balconing”, where revellers jump off balconies, often into hotel swimming pools – a practice that has killed dozens of drunken visitors over the years.
“With this, the Balearic Islands become the first destination in Europe to fight back against tourism based on excess,” Iago Negueruela, the regional official in charge of economy and tourism, told reporters.
Anyone “balconing” or allowing it to happen would be expelled from their hotel and could be fined up to 60,000 euros ($66,540), he said.
Some traders expressed fear that such measures would hurt small businesses on the Mediterranean islands.
“I find this exaggerated and disproportionate,” Jose Tirado, president of Mallorca’s Tourism Services and Businesses Association, told Spain’s state television.
