‘Very few’ hotel cancellations in wake of attacks

Madrid, Aug 23 (IANS) Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau said on Tuesday that the city had experienced "very few" cancellations of hotel bookings in the wake of the terrorist attacks which claimed 15 lives on August 17.

Fourteen of the deaths were in Barcelona, with 13 of them on Las Ramblas street, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the capital, Xinhua news agency reported.

There were 34 different nations represented among the 120 victims.

In a press conference, Colau said that for the moment, the effect of the attacks on Barcelona's economy had been minimal and that a feeling of normality remained in the city's business sector despite the attacks.

However, the mayor, who appeared alongside key representatives of the city's business sector, admitted that this was only a short-term judgement and that the city would be closely following how its economy developed in the future before drawing conclusions over the effect of the attacks.

Jaume Collboni, president of the Socialist Party in the Barcelona Town Hall, explained that it would take several months before a true impact of the terrorist attacks on the city's economy could be measured.

Joan Gaspart, the vice-president of Barcelona Hotel and Restaurant Owners' Association (and former FC Barcelona president) said he did not think the attack would have a long term effect, saying "Barcelona is Barcelona."