Irish tourists warned of €1,800 fines for wearing bikini in popular holiday spot
With more and more Irish tourists travelling to Portugal every year, a warning has been issued regarding new, stricter regulations in a popular holiday hotspot.
New rules have been implemented in Albufeira with the aim of clamping down on rowdy tourist behaviour, especially on the weekends.
Fines of between €500 and €1,800 will be issued to tourists for any behaviour deemed to be "boorish" because locals in the Portuguese city have simply "had enough."
Eoghan Corry, editor of Air and Travel magazine, took to Newstalk to explain the harsher penalties, which will primarily focus on public intoxication but extends to the wearing of bikinis away from the beach.
"What they've done is they've taken existing regulations and they've beefed them up a little bit and introduced a few new ones," Mr Corry explained.
"The main thing that they're looking for is drunkenness and absolutely obnoxious behaviour late at night.
"Interestingly enough, a lot of the regulations will apply to people wearing bikinis and swimwear in the street."
Tourists are said to be increasingly concerned about the clampdown, which will make it interesting to see how many Irish visitors travel to Portugal this summer after more than 500,000 took a trip to sunny Portugal in 2024, an increase of 6.3 per cent from the previous year.
It is understood that similar regulations are being considered in other Portuguese holiday destinations but these have not yet been approved.
It comes as locals continue to vent their frustration about drunken and disruptive behaviour late in the night and particularly at weekends in Albufeira.
"The fines are large," Mr Corry added.
"I think you're talking about €1,800 at the top end and starting at €500.
"[Regarding] the level of enforcement, it does sound like Albufeira could be going the direction of Saudi Arabia but I doubt that's going to happen any time soon."
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