Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Three-year-old confronts the frightening specter of jellyfish on the beach. getty Atop the destinations enforcing severe bans to control overtourism on their shores, Spain and Italy are fining holidaymakers hundreds of dollars for disobeying little-known rules regarding smoking, drinking alcohol and not covering your swimwear with clothes when leaving a beach. “Beach bans are often introduced to improve visitors' experience and make life easier for residents,” explains Schengen News .
“European beaches are some of the most exquisite getaway destinations, and every year millions of tourists pick these destinations to visit, enjoy and make memories.” Forbes 'Tourismphobia': Protests, Bans, Fees, And Fines At European Hotspots To Keep Visitors Away By Cecilia Rodriguez But the situation at a number of the most popular beaches have spun so far out of control that over the past year officials have introduced many bans and strict fines to protect the environment. It’s not only ‘unknown new rules’ that beachgoers should be checking.
A lesser-known threat is also bringing troubles to European shores: jellyfish, and an even more worrisome invasion of a new Japanese specie known as ‘Fake Jellyfish’, particularly in northern Spain, where it has forced the closure of a number of beaches. Forbes In Barcelona, Locals Fight Overtourism Armed With Water Guns By Cecilia Rodriguez Lets start with the bans. Schengen.
News has compiled a number of the latest measures taken by Spain and Italy that “You Need to Be Aware of Before Bathing on European Beaches.” function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.cnxel) { window.
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Destinations including Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, Schengen News reports, ban swimwear outside of beaches and pools — as does Sorrento in Italy. Various Spanish destinations along the Mediterranean coast such as Benidorm — popular for its nightlife — issues fines to tourists who try to reserve beach spots with a towel. Meanwhile, those swimming and/or sleeping on the beach between midnight and 7 am face fines up to €1,200.
The city is also dinging both drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes for as much as €2,000. Forbes 10 Top Hiking And Walking Trails In Europe, According To New Reports By Cecilia Rodriguez Tourists opting for nudity on non-nudist beaches can be fined up to €650. In nearby Calpe, holidaymakers who set up umbrellas, chairs or hammocks before 9.
30 a.m. face a fine of up to €250.
In Barcelona, a new fine charges €30 to those smoking on the beach and many restaurants in the over-touristed city have enacted a new dress code for beachgoers, banning those with football shirts from entering. Ditto strapless tops, accessories bought from street vendors and any clothing with the logos of alcohol brands. Galicia fines those found urinating or attending to other physiological needs on the beach or sea.
The Galician city Vigo fines “those breaking the rules a total of €750. The new measure was introduced after the city revealed concerning levels of contamination.” Spiaggia Rosa beach in Sardinia, Italy, is closed to visitors and imposes large fines on scofflaws.
getty Italy, the second most popular destination for summer with its hundreds of beaches attracting millions of tourists, according to the Europe Summer Tourism Index, has been taking measures, “mainly related to the way tourists dress up.” Sorrento, on the Amalfi coast, fines tourists wearing swimwear outside beaches and pools up to €500. In Sardinia, local officials have introduced a rule prohibiting towels for sunbathing because they trap too much sand.
They ask visitors insead to bring mats, which gather less sand. Popular Sardinian beaches have imposed a cap on daily visitors: 1,600 at Cala Sisine Beach, 1,300 at Santa Maria Navarrese Beach and only 550 at Cala Mariolu Beach. And many beaches are charging an entry fee.
The island is fining up to €3,500 for those who dare to wander onto the Spiaggia Rosa beach, a gorgeous pink-sand beach that was suffering from depredation by tourists destroying the environment and stealing the endemic pink sand from the beach. Posing for selfies at tourist hot spots in Portofino can cost you up to €275. “The measure has been introduced due to excess of tourists in popular places that make mobility for locals and visitors very difficult.
The island of Capri has banned smoking of tobacco products including cigarettes and vapes on its beaches, as well as for dropping tobacco products on the ground, drains and in the water. Violators are looking at fines from €25 to €500. In Venice, tour leaders are not allowed to use megaphones or loudspeakers to guide tourists.
The number of tourists in a group in the iconic Italian city has been capped at 25 people. In Rome’s legendary “Spanish Steps,” tourists can be fined from €250 to €400 for sitting on the steps – a measure considered excessive by Italian activists. Other popular European destinations have introduced strict rules in an effort to control overtourism.
In Portugal, holidaymakers can be fined up to €4,000 for playing loud music on the beach, according to the National Maritime Authority. This includes using portable speakers. France has forbidden smoking on beaches.
The U.K. is charging fines of between £100 and £1,000 for walking dogs on certain beaches between May 1 and September 30, up to £2,500 for dropping rubbish, up to £1,000 for taking pebbles and up to £1,000 for camping on beaches.
Greece is limiting the number of sunbeds at beaches across the country: 70% of beaches must be free from sunbeds, while protected beaches will allow 15%. They may be pretty to look at..
.but their sting is not. getty The fake and the real Jellyfish The issue of “fake jellyfish” is tricky, particularly in Spain: A new specie has proliferated that is not really a jellyfish but looks and stings like one, and fake jellyfish warnings appear at heavily visited beaches posted by locals to keep the crowds of tourists away.
The last one is a hoax more common at beaches in the Balearic Islands, where locals fed up with tourism, are finding specific ways to discourage them from their favorite spots. The fake jellyfish signs to ward off tourists posted at beaches in Mallorca and Minorca are in English, with finer print written in Catalan explaining that actually, it’s an “Open beach. Not to jellyfish nor foreigners.
” The “real” fake jellyfish is a creature that has made its appearance on beaches along the Mediterranean. They have stung bathers on the beaches of San Sebastian, have been spotted on beaches in Cantabria, Galicia, the Costa Brava and Andalusia. Generally, according to the Huffington Post , “the false jellyfish is wreaking havoc on Spanish beaches.
” It has long blue or purple tentacles that are quite poisonous to the touch. La Nueva Espana reports that over recent weeks, the invasion has triggered the closing of a number of popular beaches in Asturias. Its scientific name is Physalia physalis, a.
k.a. Carabela Portuguesa or Portuguese frigate.
Although it looks similar to a jellyfish, technically it’s a conglomerate of organisms that cooperate as a colony to survive. “This situation worries bathers and local authorities,” reports National Geographic Spain , “since stings from these marine organisms, often confused with jellyfish, are increasingly common due to the progressive rise in sea temperature.” The increase of jellyfish and other organisms such as the fake jellyfish throughout the planet’s seas “is due to pollution, warming of the water and a shortage of predators.
” This slimy creature travels great distances, propelled by the wind and due to its pneumatophore, a kind of float about fifteen centimeters long, that serves as a sail and from which the long-stinging tentacles hang..
