Night-time revelers have chased locals out of Prague’s historic Old Town. The ban appeals to both them and cultural tourists.
In Prague, Czech Republic, the city government has decided to ban popular nighttime bar tours, or “pub crawls”.
With a population of 1.3 million, Prague is a popular destination for stag parties, for example, because of the relatively cheap beer and the numerous bars and nightclubs in its UNESCO-protected old town.
According to the Guardian newspaper beer is often cheaper than water in restaurants and bars in Prague. In the Czech Republic, an average of 128 liters of beer is drunk per inhabitant per year.
There are several tour operators in the city that offer popular organized bar tours. However, all good things come to an end.
– We have decided to ban bar tours between ten in the evening and six in the morning, deputy mayor Zdenek Hrib announced yesterday.
The aim of the ban is to attract different types of tourists to Prague.
– We want to attract wealthier people who come here for the cultural offer, not those who come just to hang out, another deputy mayor Jiri Pospisil quoth.
The director of the Czech Hotel and Restaurant Association interviewed by the AFP news agency Vaclav Starek according to the industry operators are not worried about the disappearance of tourist euros.
– It’s not forbidden to go to bars here, just these organized bar tours, he says and adds that many locals have completely stopped visiting Prague’s old town because of the hawkers.