Alicante Old Town: Popular Spanish holiday city shuts pubs and bars early in latest measure against tourists

Bars, nightclubs and restaurants in Alicante's Old Town will have to close early due to rising complaints about noise after hours. Authorities in the Spanish city have drawn out dedicated Acoustically Saturated Zones (ZAS) where the bulk of the noise pollution comes from.

Hospitality venues on the city's popular Calle Castaño and the area around it will have to shut at 12.30am moving forwards after the decision was voted on by the city council on Tuesday (11 February). The crackdown could come into force as early as March, in time for the summer season.

The curfew will extend to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays and during holidays, while nightclubs will have to boot out revellers and pull down the shutters no later than 3am. Hospitality venues with terraces must ensure they are cleared half-an-hour before closing, according to ex-pat outlet The Olive Press.

The measures also apply to 24 hour shops, who will also have to close their doors between 12.30 and 7am. Meanwhile, the granting of new licences nightclubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, karaoke bars and even bingo halls has been suspended. Outlets selling bakery goods, take-away meals, newspapers or drinks will also be affected by the restrictions. To ensure the rules are obeyed the Policia Local will run a special operation to make sure closing times are observed and bar terraces are cleared.

The tough moves are just the latest of crackdowns from authorities across Spanish tourist destinations. Last month Costa del Sol capital Malaga banned any new short-term holiday rentals. The three-year ban - which will likely be extended beyond that - follows complaints in the city over rising housing costs and noise levels. Madrid has also banned tourist apartments in its historic centre, while the similarly-popular city of Seville has put in place a cap of no more than 10% of residential properties to be rented out to non-residents.