With Portugal welcoming a record 32.5 international visitors at the end of 2025, the Iberian nation has been struggling to contain the impact of mass tourism in many popular destinations.
Last year, lawmakers in the resort city of Albufeira introduced bylaw changes that would fine tourists or anyone else going around in “a state of partial nudity” €1,500 for those wearing swimwear outside beach and pool areas and €1,800 for anyone caught fully naked.
The crackdown came after a viral video of eight British men dancing naked in a bar on Albufeira’s party strip caused a local outcry. After being voted in by the city council last year, the changes to the local code of conduct will come into effect for the second summer season that brings over five million tourists to a town that has a permanent population of just 44,000 people.
The bikini ban: what it is and who is affected
Located in Portugal’s southernmost Algarve region, Albufeira was once a quiet fishing village that in the last two decades exploded in popularity as a beach and party destination for visitors from all over the world.
“Remaining or moving around in a state of partial nudity, understood, for the purposes of this Code, as a person who partially exposes their body, using any type of clothing or accessory notably, swimwear: bikini, trikini, swimsuit and similar, shorts and underwear,” the local code of conduct reads in translation from Portuguese.
In local and tourist circles, the crackdown became known as a “bikini ban.”
Related: Cruise line cancels sailings for disturbing reason
While no reports of tourists being slapped with a fine have emerged since the ban first started being enforced last summer, the changes were envisioned as a way to remind tourists to not treat the entire town of Albufeira like a beach.
While proximity means that the bulk of travelers come to Albufeira from nearby European countries and the United Kingdom, it is also becoming an increasingly popular destination among Americans — according to local statistics, the 2.37 million Americans who came to Portugal in 2025 are an 8% jump from the previous year.
Shutterstock
The Albufeira bikini ban could expand to more destinations in Europe
While direct flights to Portugal from the U.S. previously took travelers primarily to Lisbon, American Airlines and Delta both recently launched new routes to Porto with other carriers eying additional destinations outside the capital.
More Travel News:
- Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.
- Here is where you should go for those last days of ski season
- Unexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026
- U.S. government issues strange warning on Ireland travel
Other popular holiday destinations in Europe have been looking at Albufeira for examples on how to crack down on tourist behavior that has grown increasingly out of control.
In Croatia, the port city of Dubrovnik capped the number of taxis and tourist buses that can drive into the historic old city during peak hours while the urban center of Split voted in a ban on alcohol sales between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“This is where situations arise that disrupt the safety and quality of life of residents, and the possibility of such rules being extended to other parts of Split is not excluded,” Split Mayor Tomislav Šuta said at a press conference earlier this year.
Related: Another popular holiday destination mulls tourist ban
