“Clear recovery” in tourism industry, says official

Catalonia has set up shop at the International Tourism Trade Fair (Fitur) in Madrid this Wednesday, confident that Spain will not give up on the Catalan tourist market.

“Catalonia will continue to make, as it has done till now, interesting proposals for all markets, including Spain,” said Octavi Bono, general director of tourism in the country. “They won’t give up on the Catalan market, as long as we provide what they want,” he continued.

Speaking at Fitur, where a number of organizations are representing tourism in Catalonia, including the Catalan Tourism Agency, Bono also highlighted the drop in tourism in the last quarter of 2017, partly due to the ongoing political dispute between the Spanish and Catalan governments, explaining how the future looks positive for the industry. “We are in a clear process of recovery,” he asserted.

This year, the Catalan Tourism Agency's Stand focussed on cultural tourism, highlighting aspects of Catalan heritage, such as castellers (human castles) and the many museums within the country.

Despite Bono’s optimism, some professionals within the sector claim that people are still reluctant to choose Catalonia as a destination after the fallout of the October 1 referendum and the political crisis. 

Mari Carmen Luque, the head of Lemur Viajes based in Madrid, explained that “it costs a little more to sell Catalonia” as a travel destination.

Despite this, Sonia Castro of Carrefour Travel acknowledged that the situation is “calmer,” stating that “before it was more complicated” to sell holidays in Catalonia, but now more people are willing to go. “There were moments when you offered it, but people just said no, that they would rather wait,” she said, referring to the end of 2017 when the political conflict was at its peak.