Anti-tourist campaign in Barcelona encourages tourist deaths

Anti-tourist campaign in Barcelona encourages tourist deaths
Photo credit: Twitter.com/barricidi

A group of Barcelona locals fed up with increasing tourist numbers have started a campaign encouraging visitors to jump from their hotel balconies. 

The #BalconingIsFun campaign has seen posters and graffiti messages targeted at tourists popping up across the city.

One of the posters talks about so-called benefits of 'balconing', claiming it prevents gentrification, improves the quality of life of other residents, reduces the chances of dying from heart disease and is 'lots of fun'.

Despite the Twitter hashtag conversation garnering laughs from some, the issue of people dying after falling from balconies while on holiday is indeed serious. At least three British travellers have fallen to their deaths from hotel balconies in 2018 alone.

A Twitter account called @BalconingisFun published a series of posts about the 'advantages' of the act before it was suspended by Twitter for breaching its community standards.

Some Barcelonians have recently been holding protests in opposition to the rising number of overseas visitors in the city. Protesters claim local residents are becoming a minority and are being priced out of the housing market, as well as facing a rising cost of living.

Newshub.