Spain’s Balearic Islands, including Ibiza, have introduced new restrictions on drinking in popular tourist areas.
The new law, which took effect over the weekend, affects party hotspots such as San Antonio in Ibiza and Playa de Palma and Magaluf in Mallorca.
Alcohol purchases and consumption in these areas will be prohibited between 9:30PM and 8AM, in an effective tightening of a 2020 ruling that curbed alcohol sales during those hours. However, the drinking ban does not apply to bars, restaurants or clubs.
Individuals caught drinking in these areas at prohibited times could be fined anywhere from €500 to €1,500 (roughly $540 to $1,620 USD), and the number of violations made by foreigners will be reported to their respective embassies, according to the BBC.
The new also places stricter rules on party boats, which are now banned from encroaching on the designated areas closer than one nautical mile. Picking up and dropping off passengers in these areas will remain prohibited.
When the Balearic Islands passed the 2020 ban—their first effort to “curb anti-social behavior”—Luis Pomar, a press officer at the Balearic Islands tourism council, told the BBC he hoped the law would no longer be necessary “in three to four years, if we instill in people how to behave.”
However, with rowdy, alcohol-fueled tourism continuing, the tighter restrictions announced last week will remain in effect through December 2027 at the earliest.
Last week, Pomar told the BBC that a commission on “the Promotion of Civility in Tourist Zones” will add representatives from the UK and Germany, the two countries whose tourists are most associated with problems.
The Balearic government has also reportedly pledged 16 million to enforce the public drinking ban and improve awareness in the “excessive tourism” areas, according to Sky News.
Featured image from Pexels.com.
