Government Regulations Aim to Stop the "Alcohol Tourism." Prohibition 2.0?

By Gheorghi Slavov
August 19, 2017

It’s summertime! Wouldn't you like to forget your daily routine for a while and enjoy a great summer vacation at the beach, maybe grab a few drinks and dance all night? Well, hurry up because finding that club it might become difficult in the near feature. In fact, it’s already happening in places like Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.

At the end of June 2017, Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria Valery Simeonov, announced in Trumpian style tweet, that state authorities will begin inspecting the bars and clubs in Sunny Beach for loud music and organize bar crawls. In his tweet, Mr. Simeonov included a link to a short scene from the 1988 movie Vchera (Yesterday). The scene depicts that disobedience to the strict rules of the Communist regime would lead to punishment.

In an interview with bTV, Mr. Simeonov revealed that the prime goals of the inspections are to stop so-called ‘’alcohol tourism” which according to his “divine judgment” has turned Sunny Beach to ‘’Sodom and Gomorrah.’’ He stated that the bars who participate in organized bar crawl and play loud music after midnight will be subject to fines and eventually closed if they continue to break “the law.” All these measures, of course, are packaged by the government having good and noble intentions to ‘’protect’’ the tourists and restore the “order” on the resort.

So why does the government want to protect the tourist from the very things that attracted them to visit Sunny Beach at a first place? Why does the government punish bars and clubs owners for providing desirable services at a reasonable price?

It is fair to say that government entities don’t operate like businesses thus they don’t understand how customer service works. In government organizations, there is no feedback system to signal whether the „customer” is satisfied. On the contrary, entrepreneurial businesses are always on the alert to create value and satisfy the needs of their clients. Their success or failure depends on how well they meet the needs of their customers. And this is the case in Sunny Beach. People go to Sunny Beach to party. Clubs and bars are open to satisfy the customers’ needs by offering parties and entertainment. A loud club music and bar crawls are part of the Sunny Beach experience and culture. As far as “protecting” the tourists is concerned, the businesses on the resort have far more interest in the safety of their clients than the government bureaucrats. Happy and satisfied clients would ensure repetitive business and good reputation, which are vitally important in the highly competitive tourist industry.

It’s unlikely that these inspections will achieve any improvement in the tourist experience. By prohibiting bar crawls and loud music, the government actually robs the customers from their experience. If these services are no longer available at Sunny Beach, the tourists will simply go to competitors like Mykonos in Greece or Ibiza in Spain who are eager for their business. Losing these customers would be inimical to the resort’s economy. Bars and clubs would not only take a huge hit, but other business would do too. Restaurants, hotels, tourist agencies, taxi drivers, souvenir shops…etc would lose customers. It would be like destroying the wealth creating engine of Sunny Beach. Let’s also not forget the thousands of college students who find seasonal jobs at Sunny Beach each summer. What would happen to them? My very first job after graduating from high school was at Sunny Beach. I was able to learn a great deal about sales, improve my English, and save money. The regulations will drain these jobs out of the resort, leaving those who seek employment with fewer options.

Sunny Beach is what it is today because the market responded to the customers’ demands. The organized bar crawls and loud music are part of the Sunny Beach experience. And yes there is going to be drunk people on the streets of Sunny Beach, but this is not a reason for the government to impose moral reforms and steer people into “good behavior.” We can go back in history and learn from the prohibition in the United States. As Lawrence W Reed powerfully articulates in his article Prohibition’s foes: Still Teaching Lessons Today"…irresponsible few isn’t a reason to outlaw the private personal and peaceful choice of the many." The assumption that the regulators are guardians of the public interest is a ridiculous illusion. An illusion that governments continue to force with the barrel of a gun.