Prague plans a crackdown on the drunken Britons

Prague plans a crackdown on the drunken Britons turning it into Europe's stag night capital
By Monica Petrescu in Prague (Telegraph online)
(Filed: 31/10/2004)

It has become the stag night capital of Europe, attracting thousands of young, mainly British, men looking for cheap beer and sex. But now politicians and tourism officials in Prague are calling for laws to tackle the drunken visitors because they are putting off the more sophisticated holidaymakers.

A report, released last week by the Czech tourism office, revealed that the historic capital of the Czech Republic, famed for its beautiful architecture, is now attracting large gangs of rowdy men looking for a good time.

Police in the city say that 20 per cent of all weekend crime involves British men on stag nights.

MPs and tourism officials have responded by demanding restrictions on the number of strip clubs in the city and legislation that will give police greater powers to deal with drunken tourists.

Jiri Paroubek, the Czech tourism minister, said: "We have people going around handing out flyers in the centre of the town at night, trying to lure people into clubs that have a female service - this is not what we need. The police have to crack down on this kind of club."

Mr Paroubek said that tourism officials were planning an advertising campaign in London that would focus on the culinary experience that Prague could offer. The hope was that it would attract more refined tourists rather than the rowdy crowds.

"Food here is as good as in London. We don't need nightclubs or prostitutes to attract visitors," Mr Paroubek said.

Pavel Bem, the mayor of Prague, agreed that firm action was needed. "What is happening here in Prague is going too far, and it has got so out of control because we do not have the authority to act to stop it," he said.

"We are now demanding laws as a priority that will allow us to bring the red-light business under control."

His spokesman, Rudolf Blazek, added that legislation to increase the penalties for prostitution would be one measure in the attempt to improve behaviour in the Czech capital. "The maximum fine for prostitution is £20. The women can earn 10 times that in a single night," he said.

A petition of Prague residents was handed in recently at the town hall. Jiri Kopecky, one of the organisers, said that people were fed up with the disorder that the stag parties were bringing to the city. "We are sick and tired of the mostly British tourists who come here to drink, get into fights and visit brothels.

"Prague is a beautiful and romantic city and they are ruining it. We do not need this kind of visitor and the council and government should act."

Local people complain that on weekend nights, drunken hordes of young British guests stagger across the historic Old Town Square, Renaissance and gothic Mala Strana and the relatively more modern Nove Mesto areas of the city, drinking heavily.

Last week's tourism report said that, of the 6.9 million foreign tourists who visit Prague each year, at least 700,000 come for the sex clubs and the cheap beer, which costs as little as 50p a pint. British visitors, of whom there are 500,000 each year, form the largest proportion of such "beer and sex" tourists, the report found.

A separate study by Morgan Stanley, the investment bank, found that after Paris, Prague has become the second most attractive city break destination for British people attracted by the budget airfares and cheap entertainment.

In the centre of Prague on a weekend night, the drunk chanting of English Premiership football club songs often drowns out the voices of tour guides explaining the history of stunning baroque palaces, or pointing out the inspirations for Franz Kafka's literary masterpieces.

Strip clubs on St Wenceslas Square, where massive demonstrations in 1989 marked the beginning of the end for the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, have become magnets for young Britons.

Employees hustle drunken young men into places such as Club K5 - a venue boasting an "oasis of entertainment and relaxation directly in the centre of the Golden City" and which has special "theme rooms" catering to "Roman", "oriental", "knight" and "nobleman" tastes.

Some British tourists in Prague last week supported the crackdown. Rita Rose, 52, from Torquay, who has been coming to Prague for holidays since 1989, said: "I don't approve of lots of Brits coming over here and getting drunk. I was here first just after the Velvet Revolution, but now more and more people are coming here. It is cheap and of course there are all the beautiful women around."

Gill Powell, 39, from Birmingham, said: "I saw lots of Brits on the plane coming over for stag nights. I doubt if people here like it much when Brits come over here and drink too much."

Other Britons acknowledged that they were in Prague to party, rather than to experience the city's history and culture.

Neil Wilson, 39, from Newcastle, said that he had come to Prague for a friend's birthday and had no interest in sightseeing.

"We've come for a weekend to get drunk. It's not really a culture visit. We chose Prague because it was at the end of an EasyJet route. We've come for drinking and good food," he said.

Rick Monkhouse, 21, from London, said that he had also come to Prague to celebrate a friend's birthday and had no interest in the city itself.

"We've come here for the drinking - what else do you do on a birthday? What we want to see here are strippers," he said.

Martin Kvapil, 29, a Czech who lives and works in Prague, said, however, that he believed some of his countrymen's concerns were misplaced.

"I know the British and I think they have an excellent way of enjoying themselves and I think Czech men should try to do the same. I think them coming here is good for the Czech economy and everyone knows it."