Tourists put off by Catalonia independence push

Barcelona

CATALONIA'S independence push is taking its toll on the region's tourism industry, with revenues and hotel bookings down since a banned Oct 1 secession referendum that was marred by violence.

"The tourism sector is one of the most strongly affected by the instability," Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told Parliament last week as he defended his government's handling of the Catalan crisis.

Catalonia, with its capital Barcelona and Costa Brava beaches, is the Spanish region that most attracts foreign visitors. More than 18 million visitors went there in 2016, or a quarter of all foreigners who visited Spain.

But images of police beating would-be voters as they tried to stop the independence referendum and the massive street demonstrat…