Tourists refuse to go home, despite fears of Eta bombs

Bomb blasts in three beach resorts on the Costa del Sol at the weekend have sent jitters along Spain's Mediterranean coast but have not scared away visitors.

Bar owners and tourist authorities insisted yesterday that British and Irish holidaymakers had nothing to fear, but few could conceal their anxiety about the months ahead, particularly if the Basque separatist group Eta strikes again.

Tom Maher left County Tipperary for Spain six years ago and fulfilled an ambition last year by opening "Mrs Ollie's" Irish bar in Estepona, near Fuengirola, Mijas and Marbella, where bombs exploded on Friday and Saturday, injuring six people.

"Those attacks are not going to do us any good," Mr Maher said. "It's very bad publicity. There are so many alternative destinations in Europe. Trade is down on last year anyway because of 11 September, and Eta isn't helping. I am worried. I'm looking at the beach now and I can see only about 20 people. That's nothing for this time of year."

Tito del Amo, the owner of Tito's beach bar in Mojacar along the coast, agrees. "We're all very concerned. This is an old problem. Eta have been targeting costa resorts for the 20 years I've been in business. It only takes a bomb or two to affect tourism. Eta knows what it is doing. I don't think they want to kill people, they just want to damage the economy by scaring people away. But there's been surprisingly little comment among my clients."

Both men share the view of Eusebio Castillo, a barman at the Portofino restaurant on the promenade at Fuengirola. "Most of our clients are English-speaking, and they say it's shocking. Then they sit down, have a coffee and say, oh well, it can happen anywhere. I haven't heard anyone say they're going to pack up and go home, and Friday's bomb was just 400 metres from here."

Spain's tourist industry, still picking up from 11 September, remains down on last year, and many visitors are thought to have delayed their holidays because of the World Cup. The Eta attacks came just as these latecomers were expected to start arriving. "We can't plan. We don't know what will happen," Mr Castillo said.

Spanish officialdom is on maximum alert: tourist authorities for the slightest blip in visitor numbers, the police to prevent any repetition of the weekend devastation. Many hotel entrepreneurs declined to comment, saying privately they feared any statement might provoke further action or contribute to a sense of uncertainty that is potentially catastrophic for their business.

But Ana Gomez, the head of the Costa del Sol Tourist Board in Malaga, said: "Not a single tourist has gone home or changed their plans, and there have been no cancellations. The costa is full. Everything is calm. This region has strengthened its security operation more than anywhere else in Spain. We have specialist units and an intelligence network to fight both terrorism and the mafia criminal gangs on the costa. That's why our police were able to act so quickly and get people to safety, as they did last year when Malaga airport was targeted."

Further up the coast, Edith Miller, who runs "The Old Pirate" at Salou, near Barcelona, recalled an Eta bomb in the resort last year. "I think people will carry on with their holiday," she said. "Many don't even read a newspaper. That was the feeling last year. There was no lasting effect. People on holiday don't think it will happen to them."

Standing beside her, John Hicks, a retired businessman who has been taking holidays on the Costa Brava for decades, said: "Eta action doesn't seem to make any difference or deter people. It's a bit like death. Unless it touches you personally, you don't really take it on board, do you?"