So much for the booze ban! Britons bring mayhem to Magaluf
PARTYING in the street in various states of undress, these British tourists are having the time of their lives.
They certainly don’t seem fazed by the fact that just hours earlier, Magaluf brought in tough new rules in an attempt to rid the holiday resort of its reputation for drinkfuelled debauchery.
Fed up with the Majorcan town’s sleazy image, the authorities imposed new measures which include a ban on drinking in the street between 10pm and 8am. Huge organised bar crawls, which can attract as many as 350 revellers, have also been outlawed with no more than 20 people now permitted.
However, as the rules came into force at midnight yesterday, there was no let-up in the stream of young Britons spilling out of bars with drinks in their hands. Scuffles broke out on the Punta Ballena strip where most of the bar crawls meet, while half a dozen police cars intervened to control crowds singing football chants.
Signs displayed at bars now warn ‘No alcohol permitted in the street’ and ‘Drink with moderation’ in both English and Spanish – but those pleas already seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Summing up the attitude taken by many tourists was Hannah MacDon- ald, 19, a mental health nurse from Perth in Scotland.
She said: ‘ We’re here for a reason, we’re here to get f****** mortal and just love life. We’re not here to worry about drinking on the street, I do enough of that in Scotland. Fine me, do whatever you want, I’m going to get mortal on the street and I don’t care.’
Asked why she had decided to come to Magaluf for the first time this year, she said: ‘Jeremy Kyle came here last year so I’m following Jezza.’
Officials launched the crackdown after Magaluf’s reputation reached a new low last summer, when a teenager from Northern Ireland was filmed performing sex acts on 24 men in return for a free cocktail. Along with the restrictions on street drinking, shops have been banned from selling alcohol after midnight.
Tourists found naked or urinating in the street will also face fines of at least £365, enforced by a new squad of police officers.
Organised bar crawls must now be accompanied by a tour rep with first aid training, while the local authorities should be given seven days’ notice of each event. An estimated one million British tourists visit the region each year, bringing £600million to the local economy. Some of the resort’s businesses are understandably wary of efforts to change its image. Juan Pedro Leon, who owns the Office bar on the strip and has been working in Magaluf for 30 years, said the rules ‘could spell the end’ of the town’s tourist industry. ‘What is the harm in letting people on to the street with drinks if they take them out in plastic cups?’ he said.
‘It’s still early in the season, but if the police do take a heavy-handed approach that is going to put people off coming here. That could lead to the loss of up to 1,000 jobs for the local economy.’
Another bar owner, who asked not to be named, was in favour of the new laws but sceptical that they would be enforced.
‘Nothing is going to change until we get rid of the “all included” culture and bring in a different type of tourist,’ he said.
‘Right now it’s still quiet, but when you get 30,000 on the strip in the middle of the summer, how are they going to stop people bringing drinks out on to the street? Do you really think the police are going to go in and snatch drinks away from people?
‘They’re giving these kids rocket fuel at knocked down prices, so it’s no surprise that there’s trouble.’
Magaluf has been attempting to clean up its image in recent years, opening new luxury hotels and nightclubs in the hope of attracting a more sophisticated clientele.
‘You can fine me if you want’