Tourists in Albufeira face fines in crackdown on nudity and drunken behaviour
The Algarve resort of Albufeira — a popular spot for Irish students enjoying post-Leaving Cert holidays — is declaring war on badly-behaved tourists by approving huge fines for nudity and drunken behaviour.
Penalties of up tp €4,000 for holidaymakers who flout a strict new good behaviour code have been agreed by local councillors.
Irish and British tourists were first warned about the new get-tough rules in February when Albufeira's mayor Jose Carlos Rolo announced the plans and put proposals out to public consultation.
Over the weekend it emerged holidaymakers can be hit with the fines once they are published in an official state bulletin, expected to happen later this week.
People who enter bars and other business premises with their tops off will face fines of up to €1,500 under the new rules, with the wearing of beachwear outside of allowed areas also being tackled.
Spitting or urinating in the street will be punished with fines of between €150 and €750.
And tourists who end up naked in public, or get caught having or simulating sex, faces fines of between €2,000 and €4,000.
Bars and cafes who let customers in without the proper dress code will also be hit with financial penalties under the new rules.
The mayor has signalled his intent to try to take Albufeira upmarket and win back some of the families said to have been scared off by the reports of loutish alcohol and drug-fuelled behaviour.
He said: 'Tourists who fall down drunk aren't needed here at all."
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