Hotels announce marked rise in guest numbers in 2017

OVERNIGHT stays in hotels have gone up by 2.8% this year, although fewer guests have been registered in Catalunya.

Travellers living in other parts of the country showed an increase in hotel stays of 3.5% in the first 11 months of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

A total of 17.5 million people stayed in hotels, holiday apartments and other tourist accommodation between January and November inclusive, although in Catalunya, 2.19 million fewer visitors – a reduction of 6.2% - was recorded.

Non-residents in Spain, or foreign tourists, showed a 1.3% increase across the country.

For Catalunya, visitors from elsewhere in Spain declined by 4.1% whilst foreign tourists staying overnight dropped by 7.3%.

This year has broken all records for tourist numbers in Spain, even out of season, although visitor numbers are declining in Catalunya due to the political crisis having caused unfounded fears of street protests creating problems.

But Catalunya remains completely safe – in fact, Spain as a whole is statistically one of the safest countries in the world both for residents and for holidaymakers.