Young British holidaymakers are reportedly being offered ground-floor hotel rooms in Magaluf to reduce the risk of them falling to their deaths from balconies.
The move comes as the Majorcan party resort clamps down on drunken tourists who are damaging its reputation, according to The Times.
New regulations mean that holidaymakers will have to register for pub crawls and hotels are to be banned from promoting all-day drinking, officials said.
The four most recent deaths from balcony falls all took place at a private apartment block close to several popular hotels.
A spokesman for the Magaluf Hoteliers Association said: “We try to put young guests in ground-floor rooms when possible to avoid any accidents from falls. We have also put higher barriers on the front of balconies.”
Calvia council, which oversees Magaluf, has ordered a barrier to be installed to restrict access to the Eden Roc apartments and told the owners to raise the height of barriers on walkways.
Three Britons have this year been fined €600 each for “balconing”, the practice of crossing from one balcony to another. Police handed out 1,462 fines in the first half of the year for offences ranging from having sex in public to aggressive behaviour by touts who try to lure tourists into bars.
The authorities want to change Magaluf’s reputation for all-you-can-drink excursions, debauched nightlife and sex games. The Balearic government is preparing to announce a crackdown on offers for unlimited alcoholic drinks in hotels.
“All-day drinking offers in hotels often cause young people to get drunk far too quickly,” Bel Busquets, head of tourism for the Balearic regional government, said.
“Councils have introduced controls on happy hours, pub crawls and other things but hotels are one area we want to stop anything-goes drinking. Drunken tourism gives us a bad image and the costs of all these cases of balconing far outweigh the financial gain for businesses. We want to make Magaluf a quality resort.”
Calvia mayor Alfonso Rodríguez Badal said that extra controls on pub crawls had been introduced which drinkers had to give their names, were limited to groups of 25 and had to ask permission for the activity before they set off.
A study led by Juan José Segura Sampedro at the Son Espases Hospital on Majorca, which treats most falls, found that each case cost €32,000 (£28,600), not including healthcare costs when patients returned to the UK.