New crackdown on tourists in Portugal with £1,250 fines for Brits wearing bikinis in the street
BRITISH tourists holidaying on the Algarve this summer have been warned they could face £1,250 fines if they get caught walking along the street in their bikinis or swim shorts.
Town hall chiefs in the party resort of Albufeira have announced the penalty fee as part of a crackdown on semi-nudity outside of exempted areas like beaches and hotel swimming pools.
Police would also fine holidaymakers caught weeing where they shouldn’t up to the same amount.
And any badly-behaving tourists who strip off completely on the street are set to be hit even harder in their pocket with maximum fines for falling foul of the law set at £1,500 under the new draft rules.
Street drinking is also a ‘no-no’ under Albufeira’s clean-up with potential penalty fees starting at £250.
The party resort’s draft new Code of Behaviour, approved late last year, has now been put out to public consultation before its expected implementation ahead of the summer season.
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Council chiefs say their intention with the Code of Conduct project is to “create better conditions for the development of the municipality, preserving Albufeira as a multicultural, family-friendly, and safe destination that values its heritage and identity.”
Albufeira’s mayor Jose Carlos Rolo said in an official government document yesterday announcing the 30-day public consultation period: “It is urgent to establish measures that effectively address the adoption of abusive behaviours, particularly by those who seek the municipality of Albufeira as a tourist destination."
Last summer a group of partying British tourists were caught completely naked, with videos showing them on top of a bar counter at Route Caffe 66 on the Oura Strip (similar to the Punta Ballena party strip in Magaluf).
The unsavoury incident came as Albufeira tried to distance itself from its party image and move upmarket and away from its dependence on British tourists.
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Two months earlier the council had presented a diversification strategy with the motto ‘Albufeira is part of your life.’
Mr Rolo said: “We want to focus also on diversifying the offer, in order to contribute to reducing seasonality but also to attract new tourist markets from other nationalities.”
As well as bikinis in its crackdown on public semi-nudity, Albufeira council chiefs are also going to war on people walking the streets in trikinis and pants.
The document the council has put out to public consultation says under a section titled ‘Prohibitions’: “To remain or circulate in a state of partial nudity, understood, for the purposes of this Code, as a person who partially exposes their body, using any type of clothing or accessory, namely, swimwear - bikini, trikini, swimsuit and similar, shorts and underwear.”
Beaches and beach access areas including seafront car parks as well as hotel swimming pools have been declared “exempted areas.”
The fine for breaking the semi-nudity rules would be between £250 and £1,250.
It's not just Portugal cracking down on badly behaved tourists - here are some other fines Brits face abroad.
Spain
In Marbella, tourists face fines of £632 if caught weeing in the sea, according to new rules last year.
You could be fined £1,700 is caught smoking on some Spanish beaches, or £560 if caught naked on a non-nudist beach.
Leaving beaches in Barcelona or Majorca without covering up swimwear have fines up to £500.
France
While not badly behaved, tourists in France face fines of £42 if they take bags that are too big on trains.
French national rail operator SNCF confirmed that passengers can only take three pieces on luggage onboard - two cabin bags and a small hand luggage bag.
In November 2022 city hall chiefs in the Costa del Sol capital of Malaga announced £650 fines for having rude memorabilia as part of a crackdown on hen and stag parties.
Italy
Tourists who fail to pay the new Venice entry charge face fines of £256.
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Introduced last year, the fees are to reduce the number of day-trippers in the city.
