Prague’s Pub Crawl Ban Redirects UK Partygoers to Portugal

Portugal could see a ‘big spike’ in stag and hen parties arriving from the UK in 2025 following Prague’s decision to ban pub crawls.

Organized pub crawls are set to be banned in the Czech capital from 10 pm until 6 am in a bid to curb noise pollution in the city.

According to UK stag and hen do experts, StagWeb.co.uk and GoHen.com, this could result in many partiers looking to Portugal for their big pre-wedding celebrations.

“Post-pandemic, we saw a big drop-off in people heading to Eastern Europe in favor of Spanish and Portuguese destinations and that will almost certainly increase in 2025 following Prague’s decision to ban organized pub crawls,” said Jon Stainer, Creative Director at StagWeb and GoHen.

“Initially, the war in Ukraine was causing a lot of uncertainty in the region and saw people looking elsewhere but we were expecting travel to return to the region in 2025.

“However, introducing a pub crawl ban is a statement for stags and hens to think twice about heading to Prague and we expect even more to turn to Spain and Portugal next year.

“Whether it’s Lisbon, Albufeira, or elsewhere, Portugal is known for its vibrant nightlife and welcoming atmosphere and is perfectly positioned to benefit economically from this.

“In 2019, Prague was our most popular destination by far but has since dropped off with Lisbon and Albufeira both rising above as popular party destinations.”

The ban in Prague will be enforced by the city police force between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., with organizers of the pub crawls who violate it facing fines of up to CZK 100,000.

Prague is not the first European capital to start trying to discourage a certain type of tourist from visiting.

Amsterdam last year launched a campaign of “stay away” adverts aimed at young British men that are triggered when people in Britain enter terms into search engines such as “stag party Amsterdam”, “cheap hotel Amsterdam” and “pub crawl Amsterdam”.

Would you like us to write about your business? Find out more