One day after the attack in Barcelona, many are wondering if Barcelona is still a safe destination, as it has been for all this time. And it is not necessary to forget that among the deceased and the injured there were numerous tourists. In fact, it speaks of 34 different nationalities, something that is not surprising if we consider that it is the most visited city in Spain.
Although answering the question of whether traveling to Barcelona is safe is difficult, today we are going to try to give an answer that can help you if you plan to visit Barcelona soon. Would you like to join us?
A city loved by tourists
As we have mentioned before, Barcelona is a city very loved by tourists, something that is not surprising if we take into account all its points of interest. Three of them (the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, the Casa Batlló and the Magic Fountain) are on the list of the best tourist attractions in Spain in 2017 prepared by TripAdvisor, which you already know that always takes into account the opinion and the comments from their own users.
Barcelona is also in the portal’s top 10 best destinations of the year. In addition, it is one of the favorite cities of millennials.
Details of the attack
A few minutes before five in the afternoon yesterday, a van ran over dozens of people on the Ramblas of Barcelona, the nerve center of the city, a place that thousands of tourists visit every day and where citizens of the City walk Condal and the nearest towns.
The perpetrator of the attack, who at this time is still on the run (there have been other arrests related to the events that occurred in Barcelona and Cambrils), circulated at full speed for more than 500 meters. The tour began in Canaletas and ended at the Joan Miró Mosaic, near the Liceo theater. The consequences have been tragic: 13 dead and more than a hundred injured, not counting the victims of the Cambrils attack, including one deceased.
As you may already know, five terrorists attempted a similar massacre in the tourist town of Cambrils in Tarragona. All of them were killed, but not before ending the life of a woman, who was beheaded. Therefore, at this time we can speak of 14 fatalities caused by terrorist acts carried out in Catalonia.
More police presence
Despite what happened yesterday, the Ramblas of Barcelona have once again filled with people. Citizens have made it clear that they are not afraid , but the truth is that this fact can seriously affect tourism. It is not yet known if Spain will raise the alert level to the maximum, which would imply the departure of the military to the streets, but what is clear is that the country, and more specifically Barcelona, is today more guarded than ever.
All the European capitals that have suffered the consequences of Islamist terrorism in recent years have noticed a decrease in the number of visitors, in some cases quite significant. However, it is important to bear in mind that the police presence in the most touristy points of the Catalan capital is even greater than before the attacks, so it will be more difficult for terrorists to do damage.
In any case, it must be borne in mind that at this time no region of the world and no country is safe from possible terrorist acts. Therefore, if we do not want the terrorists to achieve what they want, which is to terrorize innocent citizens, we must continue leading our normal lives and traveling to places as beautiful as Barcelona.
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