Madrid cleaning strike: Tourists cancel hotels and Christmas breaks in the capital at the last minute
Saturday, November 16, 2013 @ 10:52 PM
DOZENS of international tourists have cancelled their planned trips to Madrid at the last minute now that the cleaning strike has hit the world's headlines.
Christmas bookings are being called off constantly, say worried hotel bosses, and all businesses connected with the holiday industry are concerned they may face huge financial losses this year.
Madrid's tourism sector earns over 40 per cent of its annual profits from the Christmas period alone.
But would-be visitors from the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, China, Russia and the USA have decided not to go to the Spanish capital after all, and some are choosing to spend a few days in Barcelona instead.
Travel agencies and tour operators say a sudden flood of cancellations have been received in the last two days and, although not everyone has said the filthy state of the city is their reason for doing so, the last-minute booking changes appeared to coincide with exactly when photographs of the insalubrious conditions in Madrid were published in the international media.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com