Crowds of drunk tourists spoil the reputation of the city
Prague authorities have decided to ban night trips to pubs and other drinking establishments as part of organized tourist groups due to complaints from local residents about noise and garbage, as well as security problems, BBC News reports. The city authorities declare that organized hikes, the so-called pub tours, primarily aimed at foreign tourists, will be prohibited from 22:00 to 6:00. The Prague Mayor’s Office approved amendments to legislation that limit “organized movements of tourists from pub to pub, disturbing the night, especially in the city center”. Deputy Mayor Jiri Pospisil said he wants the city to become a place where “civility and respect for public space are a priority.” The authorities of the Czech capital also complain that crowds of drunk tourists negatively affect the reputation of the city. Prague is not the only city that is trying to cope with the crowds of noisy tourists. Previously, the authorities of Venice, Amsterdam, Barcelona and other popular tourist destinations tried to do this. Officials in the central Prague 1 district, most of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and where most pubs, restaurants, bars and breweries are located, welcomed the move. The Prague Pub Crawl company, which organizes bar tours, criticized the decision of the city authorities, calling it “a populist move to hide the inability of the city’s leadership to solve real problems, such as the shortage of municipal police officers.” According to the Czech Statistical Office, last year the city with a population of 1.3 million people received about 7.4 million tourists. Travelers are attracted not only by the sights and architecture of Prague, but also by cheap beer, which in some establishments is cheaper than water. According to statistics, the country annually consumes the most beer per capita in the world.Vaclav Starek of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants told AFP that, in his opinion, business would not be affected by the ban in any way. “I don’t think it will affect sales. No one will be banned from going to the pub, but we don’t need these nightly organized trips to pubs,” he said.
