Alcohol-fuelled holidays in the Balearic Islands such as Majorca and Ibiza have been banned in a bid to avert rowdiness and excess drinking.
Pub crawls have been stopped in their tracks and happy hours and free bars are now illegal in the West End of Sant Antoni on Ibiza and Playa de Palma, El Arenal and Magaluf.
The law, which was drawn up in consultation with the tourism industry, also bans two-for-one drink offers, and alcohol can no longer be purchased in shops between 9:30 pm and 8 am. Party boats are also banned and no new licences will be granted
Anyone found committing a “serious offence” according to the new law could be fined €60,000 (£51,250) and expelled from their accommodation.
A spokesman for the regional government of the Balearics said the law will the law which reinforces measures already introduced in 2015, will “force a real change in the tourism model of those destinations” and ‘fight excesses in certain tourist zones’
“This is the first law adopted in Europe which restricts the sale and promotion of alcohol in certain touristic areas. It will have a considerable impact outside of Spain.
The law has been described by the Tourism minister Iago Negueruela “an exceptional law for a particular area and a specific problem”.
Establishments that break the new rules risk fines of up to €600,000 euros and the threat of being closed down for three years.
Previously a law was passed that bans “balconing” i.e. when holidaymakers jump from a hotel or apartment balcony into a swimming pool, in some resorts, has been extended across the whole region. Anyone who flouts the rule will be fined up to outs the rule will be fined up to €60,000.
The hope is that Sant Antoni and Magaluf – dubbed “Shagaluf’ because of its notorious reputation – will no longer be a hotbed of anti-social behaviour.