British holidaymakers in Spain face £170 fines if they buy souvenirs

British holidaymakers in Spain face £170 fines if they buy souvenirs

As the war on tourists wages on, British holidaymakers in Spain could be forced to pay £170 fines if they buy souvenirs from unlicensed sellers on the beaches and streets.

Plain-clothed cops will patrol the streets of Costa Blanca in south-east Spain to dish out penalties to unsuspecting tourists.

The popular holiday destination is cracking down on illegal street sellers, known locally as 'manteros' or top mantas, because they typically display their goods on a blanket.

From fake 'designer' handbags to knock-off watches, tourists buying products from unlicensed 'manteros' will be slapped with an immediate fine of up to €200 which works out at around £170.

The mayor of Torrevieja has called for more police officers during the summer to enforce the new rules.

During peak season Torrevieja's population swells to more than 500,000, according to The Mirror.

There has also been calls from the nearby southern region of Costa del Sol for stricter penalities against tourists who buy from wandering street vendors, known as 'looky looky men'.

They are notorious for peddling knock-off merchandise to beachgoers in Spain, often operating without a license.

Local shop owners in the coastal town of Benalmadena are thought to lose between 20 and 30 per cent of their profits to these unlicensed sellers, according to the local Association of Traders and Businessman.

The move comes after a series of crackdowns across several Spanish islands as they battle overcrowding and immense spikes in tourism.

New plans for alcohol free streets were unveiled by the conservative Partido Popular government.

Boozy holidaymakers will be unable to drink on public streets in Magaluf.

Penalties for non-compliance with the prohibition of alcohol consumption on public roads will range from €500 to €1,500 (£430 to £1,290).

These new measures were fully supported by the Mayor of Calvia, Juan Antonio Amengual, who stated they would make the island a safer place to be enjoyed by all.

The new laws will be enforced until at least December 2027.

Last week, a Menorca holiday village dubbed the 'Spanish Mykonos' threatened to ban all tourists after previously telling them to only visit between 11am and 8pm so they can enjoy their breakfasts.

In Menorca, graffiti has also sprung up on walls telling tourists to 'go home', while in Marbella last year, tyres on cars with British number plates were slashed.

Ibiza also became the latest Spanish holidaymaker hotspot to join in with growing anti-tourism protests that have erupted around the country.

'We are only against the massification of the type of tourism attracted to our island.

'The island is saturated, especially with illegal renting and our 572 square kilometres cannot take anymore,' she added.

Similar protesting has been seen in other popular destinations.

Furious locals in Tenerife went on hunger strike in an effort to voice their anger.

On April 20, thousands of protestors took to the streets of the Canary Islands to protest against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand their politicians take action.

Majorcan-based hotel chief Joan Pla warned recently the mass tourism protests in the Canary Islands could be repeated in the Balearics.

He claimed the number of homes built for local residents that were being purchased instead by foreigners as holiday properties was a problem.

And he complained islands like Majorca where he is based were having to cope with the influx of too many people at certain times of the year.