Barcelona hotel occupation falls in October

Source: Xinhua| 2017-11-16 00:44:57|Editor: huaxia
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MADRID, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of tourists staying in hotels in Barcelona fell by seven percent in October, while there was a 13-percent reduction in the amount of money they paid for their stays, figures published by the Barcelona Hotel Owners' Guild (Gremio de Hoteles de Barcelona) showed on Wednesday.

Barcelona's hotels were at 83 percent occupancy in October. Although the figure is still impressive, it was down seven percent on the same month last year, while the average price of a room was nine percent lower.

Guild president Jordi Clos explained that some four and five star hotels had experienced up to a 40 percent fall in billing and expressed his concern that Barcelona could lose its status as a top city for business congresses.

He said the fall was partly the result of the political situation and the uncertainty caused in the wake of the Oct. 1 independence referendum in the Catalan region, which was declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

However, Clos made it clear this was not the only cause of the reduction in tourist numbers, explaining that the summer strikes by security guards at Barcelona's El Prat airport, protests over the high numbers of tourists visiting the city, and the Aug. 17 terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils had also had an effect.

Press coverage abroad had "very much exaggerated the problems," and had been "very repetitive," he commented, saying that until June the year had been "fantastic" with a 3-percent growth in tourists, while August and September had seen similar tourist numbers as in 2016. Enditem

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