Barcelona urges Spanish government not to alarm tourists

Barcelona City Council has announced a decrease in the number of hotel reservations and called on the Spanish government to help create a climate of normality, instead of making “alarmist” statements which “are not based on reality.”

“This should not be the instrument that the State uses to manage the complex situation we have," said the Councillor for Tourism Agustí Colom.

He pointed out that a total of three cruise ships had indeed been diverted away from Barcelona on October 1 and 3, coinciding with the days of the referendum and general strike. When compared with the 60 or so ships that arrive in Barcelona every month, he maintained that this difference is “virtually imperceptible.”

However, although there have been no significant numbers of cancellations of hotel bookings, “the uncertainty of the situation is causing the rate of bookings to decline,” according to Colom.