Bali, Venice, Athens, Iceland, Amsterdam - and now Prague. The list of cities taking action against the negative impacts of tourism is rising, with the ever-crowded Czech capital now cracking down on guided pub crawls.
Prague municipal officials say they now plan to ban guided tours of bars in the city after nightfall in a bid to crack down on loud, drunken tourists who crowd the popular holiday destination.
The pub crawls are particularly popular with tourists from the United States and the United Kingdom, and usually involve visiting a series of bars across the city for a fixed fee and led by a tour guide.
The municipal regulation will come into force at the beginning of November, and will apply from 10pm until 6am.
Although the country is famed for its local beers, Prague officials contend the boozy tours are having a negative impact on public spaces and have become detrimental to local life.
"With the updated market regulations, we have an effective tool to ensure order and tackle excessive noise in the streets and other negative effects on local residents," said the mayor of Prague's first district, Terezie Radomerska, on Monday.
Local authorities are promoting "more cultured tourism" in the city centre. Radomerska said that, with theatres, cafés, restaurants and galleries, the area has other attractions to offer than just alcohol consumption. Regular tour guides with groups will not be affected by the rules.
Several tour providers expressed disbelief and frustration about the decision. A spokesman for one tourism company that offers pub crawls accused local politicians of trying to score "cheap political points," according to the CTK news agency.
The guide spokesman said tourist groups travelling unaccompanied by a tour guide would cause much more noise. It is unclear whether the decision would be challenged in court.
Last year, more than 7.4 million visitors stayed in Prague for at least one night, more than five times as many people as live in the city.
Tourist destinations around the world have seen officials and residents moving to do something about perceived overtourism as visitor numbers return to what they were before the pandemic.
Recent years have seen disgruntled locals push back against excess visitors and visitor excesses in tourism magnets from Bali to Portofino.
Visitors to Amsterdam are now being charged Europe's highest tourist tax from 2024 after the picturesque Dutch city increased the levy on overnight stays from 7% to 12.5% in its ongoing fight against overtourism. It follows bans on guided tours of the red light district and smoking joints in public.
Meanwhile in Spain, local residents in places like Mallorca, the Canary Islands and Granada have been taking to streets calling on the hordes of tourists clogging the alleyways, public squares and parks to go home.
And in Venice, after years of debate over the appropriate response to overtourism, the city is now forcing day-trip visitors to pay a €5 ($5.45) entrance fee on busier days.
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