Prague city councillors have banned night-time pub crawls organised by travel agencies because the city wanted to target “more cultured” tourists.

The Czech capital of 1.3 million people has for a long time been a popular destination for noisy stag parties and pub crawlers, largely from Britain.

Prague deputy mayor Zdenek Hrib told reporters on Monday that organised night-time pub crawls would now be banned.

“It will not be possible to have guided tours between 10pm and 6am,” he added.

Jiri Pospisil, another deputy mayor, said Prague city hall was “seeking a more cultured, wealthier tourist … not one who comes for a short time only to get drunk”.

Foreign beer lovers have for years helped the Czech Republic keep its position as the world’s thirstiest nation.

In 2023, a world-leading 128 litres of beer was drunk per head of population in the Czech Republic, despite a steady decline since the Covid pandemic hit in 2020.

Beer is still cheaper than water in some restaurants and many pubs in the Unesco-listed historic centre offer the acclaimed local lager for less than €3 a pint.

Vaclav Starek, the head of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, hailed the city hall’s decision.

“Trips to the centre in search of beer have been a problem for local people and for other tourists too,” he told AFP. “I don’t think this will hurt our sales. Nobody will be banned from going to a pub but these nightly organised pub crawls … are nothing we would need.”

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”.

The ads describe the risks and consequences of excessive alcohol and drug taking: fines, a criminal record, hospitalisation and permanent health damage.

Another campaign launched this year sought to discourage visitors with an online quiz; anyone who answers yes to the questions “Would you like to explore the city with a drink or a spliff/joint in your hand?” or “Would you like a guided tour among sex workers’ windows?” is met with the response, “That is going to be a hassle. It is forbidden.”

Other European cities have also introduced measures to deter mass tourism, including Venice, which has limited tour group sizes and banned loudspeakers, and Barcelona, which has said it will ban apartment rentals to tourists by 2028.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report