Prague bans pub crawls to stop Brit stag dos and attract 'better class of tourist'

Fed-up councillors in have banned in a fight against drunken tourists.

The Czech capital is a hotspot for boozed-up Brits and is one of the – with more than 113,000 visitors in the first three months of this year alone. Entertainment on offer includes sex shows in mud and performing dwarves willing to be tied to a member of the party as “an extra dose of madness”.

But city officials are cracking down by imposing a ban on organised drinking tours between 10pm and 6am, which will be enforced by police. Jiri Pospisil, one of Prague’s deputy mayors, said the city was “seeking a more cultured, wealthier tourist – not one who comes for a short time to get drunk”.

READ MORE:

Vaclav Starek, Head of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, said: “Nobody will be banned from going to a pub but these nightly organised pub crawls... are nothing we would need.” Prague Pub Crawl, which organises the excursions, panned the decision as “a populist move to cover up the city management’s inability to address real issues, such as the lack of municipal police officers”.

The measure is the latest in a revolt against rowdy tourists across Europe. Like Amsterdam, Munich and Budapest, Prague has already banned beer bikes. Majorca has introduced fines for street drinking, antisocial behaviour, and selling alcohol after 9.30pm, with the exception of licensed venues.