Brit-favourite holiday hotspot u-turns on strict new rules that would ban suitcases
A BRIT holiday hotspot has rolled back on rules that were set to punish travellers for having wheelie suitcases.
Having your luggage on wheels makes it much easier to carry around when going away, but not everyone is a fan.
Last month, officials in Dubrovnik, Croatia reportedly said they were thinking of implementing a hefty fine for people who dragged the cases through their city.
The mayor Mato Franković wanted to reduce noise, after locals complained about hearing suitcases rolling loudly through their streets late at night.
He said that tourists visiting Dubrovnik this summer would be required to carry their luggage as they walked through the city’s old town.
Those who failed to comply faced a €265 fine (£226).
However, city officials have since quashed those reports, saying that they had no plans to introduce such a punishment.
They wrote in the Dubrovnik Times: “The City of Dubrovnik would like to emphasise that this claim is completely untrue”.
They added reports claiming “rolling suitcases will be penalised and fined in Dubrovnik” were inaccurate.
The mayor does still hope to introduce plans to reduce the noise the cases make however, even if it’s without a fine.
Those plans include forcing visitors to leave their luggage at a drop off point, where it will be brought to their hotel, at a cost.
He told Croatian newspaper, Jutarnji List: “Tourists will leave their bags at a designated point, and we will, of course, for a fee, bring their things to the address where they will stay.
“This is just the beginning, the ultimate goal is to create a logistics center within the airport, after which all the luggage will be Dubrovnik visitors to be transported from Ćilipo directly to the guests’ addresses.”
Brits with luggage that doesn’t have wheels won’t be affected, so backpacks and duffels will still be allowed.
Dubrovnik officials also recently released a short video all about the dos and don’ts of visiting the city.
Holidaymakers were reminded not to walk their pets without a leash, climb monuments or walk around the city centre without a top on.
The video is being shown on Croatian Airlines flights and cruise ships in a bid to educate visitors.
While the fines aren’t going to be put in place in Dubrovnik, there are places elsewhere with seemingly strange laws that can catch tourists out.
Certain clothing is off limits to tourists in Playa de Palma in Mallorca, where restaurant owners drew up a dress code that locals hoped would limit anti-social and drunken behaviour.
Football shirts are banned as part of the code, while going topless is not an option either.
Meanwhile, the popular holiday resort of Vigo banned weeing in the sea with fines up to €750 (£640) for anyone caught.
The coastal region in the northwest of Spain issued a warning last year which bans urinating “in the sea or on the beach”.
It is now a minor infraction due to being a hygiene and sanitary risk, meaning tourists will be fined if they break the rules.
Meanwhile, stag and hen dos were warned about stricter rules in the Costa del Sol last summer.
And several beaches in Spain also imposed smoking bans.