Catalonia declares independence – so is Barcelona safe to visit?

Catalonia remains in a state of heightened tension after its parliament on Friday declared independence from Spain.

The region on the east coast of the country, which has been at loggerheads with the central government in Madrid since a referendum at the start of the month, attracts 17 million tourists each year, with its capital Barcelona one of Europe's most popular city break destinations. 

On Monday, Spain's chief prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza announced that his department will present accusations of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds against the members of the Catalan government formerly led by deposed regional premier Carles Puigdemont. 

Is Barcelona safe for visitors?

The Foreign Office has updated its advice to warn visitors to the region to "exercise caution".

"There have been large gatherings of people in Barcelona and other areas of the Catalonia region in the relation to the political developments there," the FCO said. 

"Further gatherings and demonstrations are very likely to take place in the coming days. They may occur with little or no warning and even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can escalate and turn confrontational.

"You should exercise caution if you're in the vicinity. Demonstrations may also cause some disruption and delays to transport services."

In the wake of the Catalonian declaration of independence on Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy appealed for calm.

Sally Davies, Telegraph Travel’s Barcelona expert, said earlier in the month that the protest marches that took place in the wake of the vote were peaceful.

At the same time, the city’s hotel association distributed letters to guests saying that life is carrying on as normal.

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Has there been any immediate impact on travel?

Public transport in the city and flights to and from Barcelona’s El Prat Airport continue to operate.

Over the weekend a Spanish pro-unity march brought thousands onto the city's streets. 

Until further notice, holidaymakers in the region should follow the Foreign Office advice.

Can I cancel my holiday?

You could – but you will almost certainly not receive a refund. UK operators and airlines are only obliged to hand money back if the Foreign Office declares it unsafe to travel.

Should the situation in Spain escalate, the first point of contact should be your tour operator or airline to see what is happening to your trip and whether it is offering customers the opportunity to cancel or reschedule. 

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Will it impact the region’s tourism in the long term?

Barcelona is Spain’s top travel destination, ahead of Madrid. However, the city’s tourism industry is already showing signs of strain in the wake of the referendum.

Early figures from tourism association Exceltur said visitor numbers had fallen by 15 per cent in the two weeks following the referendum. Figures from travel data analysts ForwardKeys showed that international air bookings to Catalonia had fallen 22 per cent since the beginning of October. 

"Domestic political unrest almost always deters visitors and that is what we are seeing now" said ForwardKeys ceo Olivier Jager. "This will also have a knock-on to other parts of Spain because many visitors arriving in Catalonia will travel around the country. If the political crisis worsens, I fear we will see a further decline in bookings."

Perico Cortés of the En Compañia de Lobos restaurant group said earlier in the month: “If independence is declared, it will be the culmination of the destructive events of the last few weeks. This whole process is already affecting our industry, the tourist industry.

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“Businesses are being driven out and the fragility of the political situation will drastically affect spending – the economy will slow down, and people will spend less on leisure. They won’t go to restaurants.”

Melia Hotels, which has eight establishments in Catalonia, said it saw reservations fall four per cent after October 1.