UK tourists heading to Benidorm next year face £168 fines as resort to enforce huge change
In an attempt to help the public familiarise itself with the new system, authorities will run a six-month trial period.
UK tourists face big fines next year if they break new laws designed to crack down on pollution in Benidorm.
Local officials in the popular holiday resort are set to launch a Low Emission Zone (ZBE) in January 2025, as they look to comply with EU directives.
In an attempt to help the public familiarise itself with the new system, authorities will run a six-month trial period.
Thereafter, any locals or tourists found to be in breach of the regulations will face fines of up to €200 (£168).
Drivers will be able to purchase permits for the ZBE via a special phone app they can download from the internet.
Francis Muñoz, the city's mobility councillor, said, as reported by the Olive Press: “This will apply to class B vehicles that are not classified as non-polluting.
"Thanks to the phone app, motorists will be able to check out on available parking areas and travel directly to them without going through the centre of Benidorm or other restricted areas."
He added: "We want more space for pedestrians and to make it a friendlier city without causing any trauma as many of the measures like bike lanes and pedestrianisation have all been done before by us.”
Benidorm’s ZBE will cover 75 hectares of the city centre and parts of the Levante and Poniente areas.
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The seaside resort is located on the eastern coast of Spain, part of the Valencia region’s famed Costa Blanca.
A tiny fishing village till the 1960s, it’s now a popular Mediterranean holiday destination known for its nightlife.
Last year, some 2,766,366 travellers descended on Benidorm, of whom over 800,000 were Brits.
British holidaymakers have also warned about heading to the resort's beaches at night time, following a spate of robberies.
TikTok content creator @frankthestagman wrote: "You'd be amazed at what happens down towards the front there. Lots of people come down here at night and get up to stuff that's kind of like, how can I put it, naughty.
"If you come down to the beach at night and you find a little corner down there or between the deck chairs or put them together so you can do what you wanna do, please bear in mind there are people who are called the Serpientes [the serpents].
"What they do is they crawl down underneath these deck chairs and they can relieve you of your handbags, your phone, your wallets."
