Research by market analysts ForwardKeys has revealed a dramatic slump in forward bookings from international markets compared to the same period last year.
Last week the crisis reached new levels, with the Catalan government officially declaring that Catalonia had broken away from Spain and was now an independent state.
The Spanish government retaliated swiftly by taking direct control of the region and threatening separatist politicians with jail.
Thousands of Catalans backing independence have taken to the streets in a series of protests, and further civil disobedience - including general strikes - are expected to follow.
The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently warning visitors to ’exercise caution’ if caught up in demonstrations, since they may turn violent.
The northerneastern region, which boasts Barcelona as its capital, is Spanish biggest tourism destination, attracting over 18 million international visitors in 2016.
ForwardKeys chief executive Olivier Jager said: “Domestic political unrest almost always deters visitors and that is what we are seeing now – a 22% collapse in international flight bookings for Catalonia.
"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. This trend will be of great concern because travel and tourism represents such a large proportion of the Spanish economy, over 14% of GDP”.
