Tourists in Spain are being warned they could be fined if they try to reserve beach sunbeds.
Anger over hogging sunbeds at holiday hotspots has ramped up this summer, with drones even being deployed in parts of Greece to monitor tourists.
But now the Spanish town of Calpe in Alicante will be handing out fines of €250 (£210) to people who reserve areas of the beach with towels, chairs and umbrellas before 9.30am.
It would also apply to belongings left unattended on the beach for more than three hours – as tourism industry leaders say they won’t tolerate ’empty but reserved’ loungers this summer.
The town council said: ‘For some years the city council has received numerous complaints during the summer about the reservation of space on the beach.
‘This measure prohibits the indiscriminate occupation of the public domain, especially the beach, with items such as chairs, hammocks and parasols at the start of the day.’
It’s hoped the fines will prevent tourists from arriving mid-morning to find a beach crowded with belongings but their owners nowhere in sight, The Times reports.
They also say these ‘bad habits’ make it more difficult to keep the beaches clean.
Stereotypes about overeager tourists laying claim to several beach or poolside loungers before the sun has even fully risen are not a new phenomenon.
But with the rise of social media and particularly TikTok, new criticism has been leveled at those who reserve precious space but don’t return to use it for hours at a time.
The ‘sunbed wars’ can get ugly, with arguments even escalating to physical altercations.
And this year’s come alongside a backdrop of growing anger towards tourists from local Spaniards, with protesters squirting water at visitors and chanting ‘tourists go home’ over noise pollution, overcrowding, and rising rents and house prices.
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