Benidorm cracked “offensive” items in store windows

The Spanish tourist resort of Benidorm is pressed against shops that show outstanding or “offensive” items in their windows – fearing that they downplay the area of ​​the area and upset passers -by.

The elements include joke T-shirts and souvenirs with sexual messages on them, which tend to be displayed in its so-called “dumbbell area”-the central area that takes care of foreign tourists.

Products are often advertised in English because of the large number of British people who visit each year.

Javier Jorda, the head of the mayor’s office, said the repression was to “ensure that minor or vulnerable communities were not exposed to offensive messages in public spaces”.

He added that “certain commercial activities were found that could be considered incompatible” by Benidorm’s laws.

Located on the Eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, Benidorm is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the country, approaching to three million visitors last year. More than 830,000 of them were British.

Local laws say the stores “should not show products that can harm people’s moral sensitivity” and this gives an example of “sexy articles”. The regulation does not affect the items sold inside the stores.

Benidorm conservative local authorities begin to press, reminding the owners of the regulation stores and asking them to remove any objects that can be broken from their windows or entrances to break it.

If they do not, the next step is to take sanctions that may include fines up to 3000 euros (2,614 British pounds).

But Jorda said he hoped that such measures would not be needed.

“We do not want it to come up with it, but we have to guarantee respect for the rule and that the right image of the city is given,” he said.

Spain received 94 million foreign visitors last year – a new record – with the United Kingdom, France and Germany, providing the largest number.

The most popular destinations are resorts along the Mediterranean coast, such as Benidorm, or the Canary and Balearic Islands.

However, the tourism industry in Spain is trying to move away from the model of the sun and the sand, for which the country is known for fears about over -tourism that led to protests.