Brit tourists to be hit with £170 fine for buying from unlicensed beach sellers in new crackdown
2 June 2024, 23:18 | Updated: 3 June 2024, 07:33
British tourists on the Costa Blanca in Spain could be hit with a £170 for buying from unlicensed beach vendors under new proposals.
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Plain-clothed police will patrol the idyllic beaches in south-eastern Spain to snare tourists buying souvenirs from unlicensed sellers.
The mayor of Torrevieja has called upon police to patrol the hotspots to enforce the new rules.
The unlicensed 'looky-looky men' are often seen peddling their wares on the beaches - and now unsuspecting buyers will face penalties for buying the knock off gear.
It is the latest in a series of measures across Spain seeking to clamp down on tourists causing overcrowding in popular destinations.
Spain’s Balearic Islands recently toughened up laws on street drinking and party boats in a bid to crack down on anti-social behaviour in tourist hotspots.
The stronger rules, based on legislation from 2020, will apply to tourist hotspots such as Playa de Palma, Magaluf in Majorca and Sant Antoni in Ibiza.
Under the expanded law, which comes into force on Saturday, people caught drinking outside of authorised areas could be fined between €500-1,500 (£430-1290).
There will also be a total ban on the sale of alcohol between 9:30pm and 8am in certain areas, such as Magaluf, Llucmajor, and Palma, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
The ban will be in place until at least December 2027, according to reports.
The rules will also aim to toughen up pre-existing rules against party boats, as they will be banned from getting closer than one nautical mile (1.852km) of the designated areas.
