Text size

Prague city councilors announced on Monday that they had banned late-night pub crawls organized by travel agencies because the city wanted to target “more cultured” tourists.

The Czech capital of 1.3 million people has long been a popular destination for raucous stag parties and pub crawls, largely British.

Prague Deputy Mayor Zdenek Hrib told reporters on Monday that nighttime pub crawls would now be banned.

“It will not be possible to organize guided tours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (8 p.m.-04 a.m. GMT),” he added.

Jiri Pospisil, another deputy mayor, said Prague City Hall was “looking for a more cultured and wealthier tourist… not a tourist who comes for a short time just to get drunk.”

Foreign beer lovers have for years helped the Czech Republic maintain its position as the thirstiest country in the world.

In 2023, the average Czech – all citizens combined, including newborns – drank 128 liters of beer, a world record, despite a steady decline since the Covid pandemic hit in 2020.

Beer remains cheaper than water in some restaurants and many pubs in the historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offer the famous local lager for less than three dollars (euros) a pint.

Vaclav Starek, president of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, welcomed the town hall’s decision.

“Traveling to the center in search of beer is a problem for the local population and for other tourists as well,” he told AFP.

“I don’t think it will hurt our sales. No one will be banned from going to a pub, but these evening pub crawls… are nothing we would need.”

frj/mmp/gil