Balconing

In 2010 in Spain, there were six deaths and 11 injuries in falls from balconies which were identified as relating to "balconing" in the Spanish press. Most of the casualties were young British and German tourists with traces of alcohol in their blood, and the incidents occurred between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.[4] In the same year, hotels were reported to have raised the height of hotel railings from 1.05 to 1.2 metres (3.4 to 3.9 ft) to reduce these incidents.[5] In Mallorca, three tourists died in 2017 in falls from balconies identified as "balconing" incidents in the Spanish press.[6] Between 2010 and 2015 it has been described up to 46 injured to this practice.[1]

According to Juan José Segura, doctor at Son Espases's hospital, 85% of the victims fall accidentally, usually while trying to jump from one balcony to the next or while drunk and recklessly moving near the edge, while the rest actively jump off the balcony. He estimates an average of 10 to 15 cases each year since 2011, with an increase since more of these jumps have been posted on YouTube.[7]

Doctor Segura and the British Foreign Office established the profile of the "average practitioner" as a 24 year old British male.

Of the 46 cases registered up to 2019, 45 were carried out by males (97%), and 61% were British. German, Belgian and other nationalities are less numerous. [8] Intoxication and recklesness with alcohol seem to play a pivotal role in the falls. Over 95% of the victims were found to have high levels of alcohol in blood, and 37% had consumed other drugs.[9] The medical costs of the tourists injured in this practice costs an average of €32,000 per case.[10] The balconies have a median height of 8 metres (26 ft), and the people have a median age of 24 years.[8]

There is an estimated 15% of cases caused by individuals deliberately jumping off the balconies to the pools. However 85% of the falls seem accidental. Spanish authorities consider that the culture of "turismo de borrachera"(tourism with the goal of getting drunk and going wild abroad) in certain countries is the main cause, along with the age of the participants, the choices made and the high levels of intoxication-arguably aided by the difference in alcohol accessibility between North and South Europe- were the main factors when it came to accidental falls.

A British report regarding the death of Tom Hughes in 2018 ruled in 2019 that, regardless of the state of intoxication of Tom, the main factor that caused his death was the too-low wall of the balconies. The ruling that caused outrage in various sectors of the Spanish tourist industry and Health sector, and prompted a response from Spain's College of Architects indication that all the buildings followed the European Safety Regulations for balcony walls, which stablish the exact same height for balcony walls than the UK regulations.[11]

In 2018, the Foreign Office teamed up with Spanish surgeon, Juan José Segura-Sampedro to run a campaign of video messages to British tourists heading to the Balearic Islands during the summer.[12] RTÉ also made a special program where a doctor from Mallorca participated.[13]

Despite these campaigns, "balconing" is still a problem and various hotels in the Balearic Islands have been forced to implement measures against it, like closing their balconies or building taller walls around them. Magaluf has been forced to regulate drinking in an attempt to control reckless behaviour, including but not limited to balconing. It has also introduced heavy fines for the practice of balconing, of between €750 and €1,500.[14]

In 2018, there were six reported balconing accidents (British, Irish, and one French). Three of them died due to the fall. This is more than during the years 2016 and 2017. Nonetheless, some cases might not be due to the practice of balconing, but might have other causes like accidental fall due to excessive alcohol consumption.[8]

In 2019, the phenomenon had less news coverage in Spain, but the event continued. By late June 11 new cases had already been reported reported, all of them from young male tourists- a Belgian, a German, a Swede, and Australian and six British tourists. Of this 11 cases, three of the British tourists died on impact. The rest were saved by the Spanish Health Services and recovered.[15] More cases were registered in July and August of the same year.[16]

In 2020 the video game Balconing Simulator 2020 was released and is now available in Steam and Humble Bundle.

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/booze-and-balconies-don-t-mix