After Denmark, another European Country has also stepped up encouraging the citizens to procreate more. A group of hotels in Italy initiated a program to fight the country’s low birth rate.
Ten hotels in the country’s central region of Umbria signed up an initiative, offering free accommodation to couples who conceive during their stay in any of those hotels. The Local reported that some of the hotels would offer a free second visit while others would repay the money if guests can prove that that have conceived during their stay.
However, the conservative region is having problem to accept the ‘Fertility Room’ campaign where the participating couples don’t need to be married. The organisers defended the decision by saying that the act of giving birth to a child is an expression of deep love, which they found worth of giving support.
Photo Credit: Yahoo Travel
Nevertheless, the officials of the region think it to be incongruous to the historic and religious appeal of the region. Claudio Ricci, the former mayor and current local councillor, did not find the program appropriate for the public image of the region, which is the birthplace of St Francis of Assisi.
Last year, Italy registered the lowest number of births in over 150 years. It also has the lowest birth rate among all the European countries. The Health Ministry also launched a campaign called ‘Fertility Day’ in September 2016 to address the ongoing low birth-rate problem.
However, many people criticised the campaign saying that the government completely sidelined the economic reasons for the low birth rate.
Photo Credit: CTV News
Last year, the Danish government also released a string of campaigns to encourage people to procreate more. However, the targeted sex campaigns have paid off as the country has already seen the birth of 1,000 more babies in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in last year.
