Tourism is becoming a hot topic of conversation across Europe, particularly in seaside resort communities that often find themselves overrun. This has led to rules in Italy restricting the number of tourists visiting certain historical sites as well as new regulations in Spain trying manage the impact of vacation rentals. These issues have led to damage and destruction as well as huge cost of living increases for locals trying to have normal lives in their homes.
Albufeira, a popular seaside vacation destination in Portugal, has joined the ever-increasing number of European spots cracking down on bad tourist behavior. Specifically, authorities will be focused on tourists who are dressed inappropriately. The issue boils down to people wearing their beach clothes in non-beach public areas. This includes women wearing bikinis and men shirtless with swimming shorts in town. There have even been issues with full on nudity in town.
The concern stems from the fact that Albufeira views itself as a family destination and many adult tourists are both dressing and behaving in ways counter to that. Violating the new laws will result in warnings as well as potentially stiff fines. Authorities are not trying to prevent visitors from wearing beach attire to the beach. The goal is to encourage tourists to dress appropriately and respectfully when in other parts of the community.
Albufeira is not the first or only European destination enforcing such rules by far. Several costal communities and regions in Croatia, Spain, France, and Italy have all had to address similar problems with new dress code rules and associated fines. Some are more hefty and rigorously enforced than others, and they apply to locals as well as tourists. Most instances will likely result in a warning, though that depends on the seriousness of the infraction and the attitude of the person in question.