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No more ‘alco-tourism’: Prague says goodbye to late-night pub crawls

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2 months ago

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No more ‘alco-tourism’: Prague says goodbye to late-night pub crawls

From bars to culture: Prague bans pub crawls in push for responsible tourism

The Czech capital has approved a ban on organised nighttime pub crawls, a popular pastime for tourists that has raked in the cash for bars but caused misery for residents and authorities alike.

The outings, which see boisterous tourist groups moving from bar to bar in Prague’s historic district, drew more than 7 million tourists last year. But they have brought loud noises at night and garbage on the streets, and have been one of the more unsavoury outcomes of over-tourism felt across Europe.

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Prague finally decided to enforce a ban, which will take effect in November, after trying to deal with groups of rowdy and drunk visitors for years.

Adam Zabranský, a member of the city’s council who drafted the proposal that was approved this week, said the measure will address noise, security and reputational concerns — but its aim wasn’t to prevent people from having a drink in this beer-loving country.

“We don’t want to support cheap alco-tourism that’s unfortunately still quite common in Prague,” Zabranský told The Associated Press.

The ban 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 100,000 koruna ($4,300).

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The radical move came after previous efforts to deal with the issue failed, including the appointment of a night mayor in 2019, a city official whose job was to minimize the impact of nightlife on residents.

“It would be great if the owners of the establishments take their share of responsibility,” Zabranský said. “As it is, the residents in the busy areas face the negative consequences while the bar owners participating in the pub crawls make profit and don’t care about the problems.”

The move is part of the city’s long-term strategy to promote cultural tourism and to attract people to stay longer than just for a weekend and come back again.

“People coming to experience culture behave differently than those who arrive to drink all weekend long,” Zabranský said.

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An agency organizing the pub crawls called the ban “a populist move.” A group of dozens of participants on Thursday apparently enjoyed their experience.

“(The pub crawl) was very nice,” Melissa Haine from Germany said. “I think it’s very funny, and you get to know new people.”

Another agency, the Drunken Monkey, said in a statement sent to the AP on Friday that by imposing the ban the city ”makes a mistake that will make the situation even worse.”

It argued that organizers and pub crawl guides are the ones “who help the city and police keep people quiet and enforce the rules on noise and others.”

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“Without the guides, the problems with noise will become even worse,” it said.

The agency said it has not been fined due to noise since its operations began in 2011 and no complaint about noise was registered on the streets they use.

The latest move by Prague doesn’t mean that visitors would face obstacles to tasting local beer in a country that is the world’s largest consumer of the drink per capita.

“Czechia has exceptional potential in beer tourism, thanks to its long history of brewing, unique breweries and the current trend of experiential and sustainable tourism,” said František Reismüller, the head of the country’s tourist authority.

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“Our goal is to show that beer travel can be not only about tasting great beer, but also about learning about Czech culture, traditions and history.”

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

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6 hours ago

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December 21, 2024

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

In conversation with Hindustan Times, Teja Sajja decodes the success of HanuMan and other Telugu films, talks about his upcoming projects, and more.
When Prasanth Varma’s superhero film HanuMan, starring Teja Sajja, was announced to be released alongside big films like Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, Venkatesh’s Saindhav and Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga in January this year, no one expected the underdog to emerge on top. And yet, the film, made on a budget of under ₹50 crore, managed to collect over ₹300 crore at the box office worldwide in 25 days, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films for the year. (Also Read: Ranveer Singh met HanuMan actor Teja Sajja, complimented him even after his Prasanth Varma film Rakshas got shelved)

Ask Teja about the moment he realised his film had not just fought against the tide but also risen to the top; he tells Hindustan Times in an exclusive conversation, “Since I returned to acting (as a lead actor after being a child artiste since 1998), this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. When everything from the HanuMan teaser to the songs was grabbing attention, we knew we had hit a gold mine. But I don’t think we imagined it would cross the ₹300 crore threshold. We were so satisfied with the opening numbers; everything else was a bonus.”

‘Success has given me fear of disappointing people’

Teja acted in Zombie Reddy, Ishq and Adbhutham before HanuMan, but they are what you would call ‘critical successes’, adding to his repertoire as an actor who can perform. But things have changed for him now, says Teja, who is being picky about the roles he says yes to. “Success either makes you overconfident or gives you the fear of disappointing people; I have the latter,” he explains.

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Teja admits he wants to chart out his career in Hrithik Roshan’s footsteps, but not in the way you think. “I have such a fondness for Hrithik due to Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. No matter how well he performed after that, these left a lasting impression on me; I’m sure 90s kids will agree,” he says, adding, “Similarly, I’ve realised that I have an audience in children now. I want to be conscious of that when I pick roles. I want to make films families can enjoy together.”

But despite people in places like Mumbai or Delhi recognising him, Teja says he’s clear that he wants to cater to the Telugu audience first. “I am conscious that I am making films for my playground – the Telugu states. This is the sensibility I have grown up with, and I don’t know if I can cater to everyone else. Will I promote my films in other languages? Sure. But I also can’t be part of films that aren’t authentic to what I know or understand,” he explains.

‘Rootedness has put us on the world map’

And authenticity seems to be the need of the hour. Be it Baahubali and RRR or the recently released Pushpa 2: The Rule, Kalki 2898 AD and Devara: Part 1, certain kind of stories seem to be finding success. “Rootedness and going local is proving to be such a boon for us, be it in Devara or Pushpa or HanuMan. Kalki 2898 AD was our version of a Hollywood film (the sci-fi concept) with actors from across languages in predominant roles; it put us on the world map,” reflects Teja.

However, the actor admits Tollywood went through a phase of Bollywood-inspired rom-coms and family dramas that worked in their favour for a while. “That wasn’t easy to replicate either, but it’s just that these local stories are what the audience seems most interested in now. It can’t just be chalked up to religion, too. It’s about the morals these films are hinged on, the fighting for righteousness, and how an underdog can find their strength. Introducing Mahabharata or Ramayana to a new audience in a cool way is just a perk,” he says.

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And it’s this rootedness that Teja says his next films, Mirai and Jai Hanuman (the sequel to HanuMan), will also have ample of. “Mirai is also a superhero film that caters to kids, but it’s not an origin story like HanuMan. It has a pan-Asian and Buddhist touch because the story is based on King Ashoka’s ideologies. I hope that I will get to deliver something new to the audience again. I will only feel like I’ve arrived if Mirai is equally, if not more, successful,” says Teja.

Rishab Shetty will headline Jai Hanuman, but Teja also looks forward to shooting that. “I can’t wait to be on that set; it’ll be exciting. Now that we know India is ready to watch our films, I want to step it up. I want to shift gears and shoot for at least two films in 2025,” he says. As for what he will do next, Teja says he wants to up the ante. “When I got a SIIMA award for Zombie Reddy as a debutant, I remember telling Prasanth this would be the last award I get. But now that I won a Radio City Cine Award for Best Actor, I hope more awards will follow,” he signs off cheekily.

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Entertainment News Platforms – anyflix.in      
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General News Platform – https://ihtlive.com/

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