Resort Town Bans Sexual Paraphernalia in Bachelor Party Crackdown
A Spanish resort town that’s a popular spot for extremely lewd bachelor and bachelorette parties has resorted to banning sexual paraphernalia in a bid to clean up its image, The Guardian reported. Specifically, the small village off Catalonia's Costa Brava has banned “inflatable penis costumes and sex dolls” from public use. Those who violate the order will receive a hefty fine.
Platja d’Aro has a population of 12,500 but sees up to 300,000 visitors each year who travel there for its debauched stag party scene. Numerous online services offer packages for bachelor and bachelorette celebrations in the idyllic coastal community, including adventure excursions, visits from strippers, and live sex shows.
The town’s new bylaw prohibits visitors and locals alike from appearing “on the public thoroughfare without clothing or only in their underwear or with clothing or accessories representing human genitals or with dolls or other accessories of a sexual nature.” Additionally, the edict disallows tourists to wear bikinis or go topless in areas away from the beach.
Those who shirk the bylaws and decide to flaunt their wares will receive a fine of somewhere between $325–$1,625.
Platja d’Aro’s mayor, Maurici Jiménez, said the new enforcements were about keeping the town pleasant for its year-round inhabitants. He said if it were up to him, he’d prohibit all raucous parties from taking place there.
In one recent incident, a prospective groom was duct-taped to a street lamp while his friends played excessively loud music and sang until the morning’s early hours, keeping the block’s residents awake with them.
“These attitudes have an impact on the community’s coexistence and we need to fight against them,” Jiménez explained.
Spain’s other vacation hotspots have struggled to curb similar debaucherous behavior in recent years. Barcelona notably introduced a similar sanction banning swimwear and toplessness away from beaches, but many of the tourists cited leave town before paying their fines.