Barcelona: One-way streets and no more megaphones in crack down on disruptive tourists

Authorities in Barcelona have launched new measures to deal with issues with giant tour teams in one among Spain’s hottest locations.

The Catalonian metropolis is bringing in stricter controls on guided excursions amid a nationwide crackdown on vacationer behaviour.

The newest guidelines will see noise restrictions, quantity caps and one-way programs for excursions within the historic centre together with round Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Battló and FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou.

As customer numbers return to pre-pandemic ranges, the rules purpose to cut back the stress on native residents.

What are the brand new guidelines for guided excursions in Barcelona?

Barcelona’s new measures are centered on curbing the disruption attributable to giant tour teams within the metropolis centre.

Tour guides should forgo megaphones and undertake headsets and earpieces as a substitute, or converse at a standard quantity.

Tour operators are required to plot strolling routes that “minimise inconvenience.” Excursions should additionally adhere to a one-way system and routes are restricted to 24 streets and squares.

Through the tour, leaders have been requested to decide on stops the place there may be loads of area with the intention to keep away from changing into an impediment for different pedestrians.

Teams are capped at a most of 30 individuals, which drops to fifteen within the very slim streets of the Ciutat Vella, town’s oldest neighbourhood. Some historic sights will solely allow teams of three to eight guests at a time.

Tour firms have additionally been requested to encourage guests to pre-book excursions upfront as a substitute of touting for bookings within the metropolis streets.

What are the brand new guidelines for vacationers in Spain?

Barcelona’s restrictions come because the nation clamps down on undesirable vacationer behaviour.

In Playa de Palma, one among Mallorca’s hottest celebration districts, enterprise homeowners have coordinated to launch a costume code at sure bars and eating places.

Guests shall be refused entry if they’re sporting swimsuits, soccer kits and any equipment purchased from road stalls similar to umbrella hats or gold chains. The bar and restaurant proprietors hope the brand new measures will assist fight the realm’s so-called “drunken tourism.”

Spain’s authorities have additionally launched a “six drinks a day” rule for all-inclusive holidays at sure resorts. Holidaymakers should pay additional if they need further drinks.

In Might, Barcelona introduced a plan to curb tourist crime over the summer season. “Operation summer season” will see 12 per cent extra cops within the metropolis’s busiest areas and harsher sentences in opposition to repeat offenders.