Laurence Dollimore
BRITISH tourists are being told to ‘go home’ or ‘we will spit in your beer’ as part of a disturbing new anti-tourism campaign in Spain.
Dozens of offensive signs have been plastered across Barcelona in the past few days, causing distress to visiting Brits and other English speakers.
One wall is seen daubed with graffiti which reads: “Tourist go home, we spit in your beer.”
Another sticker simply says: “Tourists go home… refugees welcome”, while one even threatens to “p**s” in tourists’ drinks.
Barcelona-based British expat Laura Brown, 28, told the Olive Press: “I think English tourists have a negative reputation in Barcelona and the short lets that they typically opt for drive rental prices up, so people are reacting to that.”
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Stepherson Rodriguez, 32, from Venezuela, added: “Whoever put these on the walls are idiots, Barcelona cannot hate the tourists, they are the life of the city.
“For me these people are crazy, just next to where I live there are signs like this.
“I know it’s upsetting for British people to see, including some of my friends, but I tell them to ignore it, not everyone thinks like this.”
The protest comes days after tourists sparked fury when they complained about a traditional festival in the popular neighbourhood of Gracia.
Digital nomads from abroad and people living in Airbnb apartments said the local celebrations “did not let them sleep” while the streets were “left a mess.”
Gracia has been gradually gentrified over the years, causing the cost of living and most importantly, rents, to soar.
Residents who are native to the area must now co-exist with newcomers from the UK, Europe and elsewhere, who some blame for making their lives more difficult, creating friction.
The socialist mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, last week said the city is “moving to a new scenario in which the priority is the management of tourism rather than its promotion.”
He insisted that he “wants a city with tourism, not a tourist city.”
