BRITISH tourists have been told to “go home” or “we will p**s in your drinks” as part of a disturbing new anti-tourism campaign in Spain.
Dozens of furious signs have been plastered across the streets of Barcelona in recent days – causing distress to visitors from the UK and other tourists.
Olive PressDozens of signs have been plastered across the streets of Barcelona[/caption]
Olive PressTourists have been told to go home by furious locals in Barcelona[/caption]
Anti-tourism graffiti appeared during the city’s popular Fiesta Mayor de GraciaRex
One wall was seen blasted with graffiti reading: “Tourist go home, we spit in your beer.”
Another sticker says: “Tourists go home… refugees welcome.”
Another threatens to “p**s” in tourists’ drinks.
Barcelona-based British expat Laura Brown, 28, told the Olive Press that Brits have a poor reputation.
“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,” she said.
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.”
It’s not the first time tourists have faced such hostility in Barcelona.
Footage filmed last year shows the words “tourists go home” written across dozens of walls, shop windows and garage doors in the city.
It comes days after tourists sparked fury when they moaned 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“.
They also complained the streets were “left a mess”.
Gracia has been gradually gentrified over the years, causing the cost of living and rents to soar.
Residents who are native to the area must co-exist with newcomers from the UK, Europe and elsewhere – who some blame for making their lives more difficult, creating tension.
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 he “wants a city with tourism, not a tourist city”.
In Barcelona, one man shared his frustrations after being rejected three times by restaurants with plenty of free tables.
The city is full of tourists in the summer months – and it’s created a desperate game of musical chairs to secure a seat outside.
Elsewhere in Spain, tourists also face being booted out of cafes and bars in Valencia after a new rule was brought in.
The bold rule gives diners 20 minutes before ousting the customers from their table in a bid to boost turnover and profits.