Mostly Harmless

The British have a reputation to uphold, and they're doing their darnedest, according to NYTimes.

"It's disgusting," said Martina Tajdusova, who works in a hotel downtown. "They spend a lot of money here, but the British don't know when to stop, when is enough. They drink and drink and drink"... "As a friend of mine said the other day, the British treat every day as if it were New Year's Eve," said Ivo Lorenc, who rents out apartments to tourists, and who once cleaned up after a party of four Britons who stayed for two nights and left 100 empty bottles behind... "It's true that we have had some complaints about groups of young people, but it's not just the British. It's not possible to divide troublemakers according to nation." Perhaps not, but the British, particularly those on stag weekends, certainly stand out. They travel in groups. They wear unifying items of clothing, like custom-printed T-shirts or humorous costumes. Residents are still talking about the time a group of 53 women arrived from Wales, each one dressed like Tom Jones. "It's cheaper to come here than to go to Blackpool," said one of Mr. Neley's friends, "and nobody knows us here."

There's a very simple economic solution to Prague's problem: higher beer prices. As demand from hooligans goes up, prices in downtown bars will increase, and some of the tourists will stay in Blackpool. Those who still come will pay more for each drink. The price increase shouldn't affect Czechs at their local establishments, but it might drive them out of the tourist-friendly bars downtown.