The Algarve resort of Albufeira has declared war on foreign tourists behaving inappropriately, imposing huge fines for public sex and nudity.
Local councillors in a Portuguese town on Friday agreed fines of up to €4,000 for holidaymakers who break a strict new code of good behaviour.
The vote at city hall came hours before it emerged on Saturday that a second tourist had been found dead at the resort after going out for a drink and becoming “disoriented” after being separated from his friends.
The body of an unnamed 21-year-old man was found near Albufeira's Old Town on the same day police discovered the decomposing body of missing Scottish tourist Greg Monks (37) after a week-long search.
Irish tourists were first warned of tough new rules in February when Albufeira Mayor José Carlos Rouleau announced plans for a “Code of Conduct” and put the proposals out to public consultation.
The process has now moved significantly forward as it has emerged that fines could be introduced for holidaymakers once they are published in the official government gazette, which is expected to happen later this week.
Under the new rules, people who enter bars and other business premises without outerwear could face a fine of up to €1,500. There will also be measures to restrict the wearing of beachwear outside of permitted areas.
Spitting or urinating in the street will be punishable by a fine of between 150 and 750 euros.
And tourists who misbehave and are found naked in public or caught having sex or simulating it are subject to fines of between 2,000 and 4,000 euros.
Bars and cafes that allow customers in without proper dress codes will also face financial penalties under the new rules.
Mayor Mr Rouleau last night announced his intention to try to make Albufeira an upmarket resort and win back some families said to have been scared by reports of boorish, drug- and alcohol-fuelled behaviour that has blighted the resort in recent times.
He told local press: “Tourists who fall down drunk are not wanted here at all,” adding that he was seeking a three-pronged approach: “deterrence measures,” marketing and meetings with diplomats, as well as calling on the central government to bring in more police.
The mayor said: “We want safety to be visible. Sending 10 police officers to their area is not going to solve the problem.”
Only one of the 25 Albufeira councillors who voted for the new Code of Conduct on Friday reportedly opposed it, with critic Leonardo Paco saying all of its provisions were already covered by national law.
Others expressed doubt that police would enter bars and cafes to check whether tourists were wearing tops.
Last summer, a group of tourists staged a public display of nudity, causing locals to question whether the town was attracting such tourists.
Footage of their drunken antics, showing them kneeling naked in a row on a bar counter, went viral online, with Mr Rouleau calling the behaviour “extremely negative” and declaring he would call police for backup.
The eight holidaymakers were later identified by police. GNR police are believed to have discovered who they were following after failing to catch them in the act.
It was not clear on Monday what action had been taken against them as a result of the investigation announced at the time.
It comes after news emerged on Saturday that another holidaymaker had been found dead in Albufeira.
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He was found early Wednesday morning at the back of a residential area under a steep cliff near the Old Town. His death is not being treated as suspicious and it is believed he was killed by hitting his head after falling.
Four hours later, missing Glaswegian Greg Monks was found at the bottom of a steep embankment west of Albufeira in an area called Cerro da Aguia.
Both men had been out drinking with friends and are believed to have become disorientated while trying to return to the hotel before falling.
The name of the 21-year-old man at the centre of the latest tragic incident in the Algarve resort has not yet been released.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
