Prague is a major stag do destination for Brits but the city has announced a new ban that’s likely to be unpopular with UK tourists heading over for a night out
A city famed for its brilliant stag do offerings has been slammed for a “ridiculous and slightly embarrassing” plan to deter British stag groups from visiting the city.
Prague is proposing to ban fancy dress costumes in a move that could impact British stag parties and hen dos who flock to the European Union holiday hotspot, reports Birmingham Live.
Councilors in the central Prague 1 district are urging city leaders to adopt the ban to discourage foreign stag and hen groups, in the hope of reducing noise pollution for residents.
However, Matt Mavir, managing director at Last Night of Freedom, which sends thousands of customers to Prague every year, has slammed the proposal as “just silly”.
“Like the over-zealous and unworkable ‘stag ban’ in Amsterdam, the only thing I can see this latest proposal doing is encouraging even more people to book a stag or hen do in Prague,” said Matt, who has organised 50,000 weekends during 25 years in the industry.”
He added: “For a start, how could this sort of ban ever be enforced? Who decides what is or isn’t outrageous? It’s ridiculous and slightly embarrassing. The vast majority of stag and hen groups are respectful and go to Prague and other destinations to have fun. There are already established laws in place to deal with offensive items, so I can’t see what use a ban on fancy dress costumes would serve.”
“Prague has always been one of our top destinations for stags to escape into hedonism, and I can’t see that changing. There’s just so much to do, see and experience,” Matt continued. “It’s a beautiful and wonderfully welcoming city, but a few short-sighted officials should be careful not to demonise tourists and potentially jeopardise a vital and profitable industry.”
“Stag and hen dos are the bedrock of a healthy tourism industry, especially when properly organised, and they bring fun, vibrancy and a massive economic benefit to Prague. It could be very harmful to turn away such a valuable market, and I’d urge the councillors discussing these plans to think again.”
Adam Zabransky, councillor for property, transparency and legislation, said: “We understand the frustration with pub crawls and drunken tourists, but imposing a ban on silly costumes seems excessive.”
Prague isn’t the only city to be looking to crackdown on stag dos and other party tourists. Just last year, Amsterdam launched a campaign urging British lads to stay away, not to mention they recently implemented more strict rules in a bid to combat overtourism.
The city council confirmed plans to cut the number of river cruises that enter the Netherlands’ capital’s waterways, in hopes to thin our crowds and reduce pollution. However, each year about 380,000 tourists extend their stay for a few days before or after their cruise, Cruise Hive reported. The limit will bring this down to an estimated 217,000, costing the city around 63 million euros in tourist income.
A statement from the council said: “Amsterdam must be and remain liveable, for residents and visitors. That is why we take measures to combat overtourism. We want to halve the number of river cruise ships in the city within five years to a maximum of 1,150 in 2028. Fewer river cruises means less crowds and more quality of life.”
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