Barcelona at #16 in Tripadvisor’s Travelers Choice Awards 2010 – is the honeymoon over?
Tripadvisor is huge…by far the biggest travel review website and community in the world. So when they asked their users to rate their favourite European destination for 2010, the results were always going to be of big interest to the tourist destinations across the continent.
So how did Barcelona fare?
Results of the international voting could be seen to be a bit of a cold shoulder for the city, missing out on a place in the Top 10. However the evaluation of “European tripadvisors” is even more disheartening as the city doesn’t even appear in the Top 25.
To compare, I would love to know where Barcelona was placed in previous years. I tried to find some results about last year’s voting without any success. However, same time last year in February Barcelona was voted the 3rd happiest city in the world by its citizens and visitors.
So is opinion actually changing about the once so idolised and celebrated city?
Maybe the increasingly higher prices you pay everywhere in the city are taking their toll. Or are just too many other visitors coming each year to make the experience truly memorable. You could claim that the city is now attracting the wrong type of tourism: tacky tourism. Yet more likely is the omnipresent problem of safety and robbery, an eternal talking point on Tripadvisor itself, which even the locals are suffering more and more despite a recent display of more policemen in the streets.
Based on tourism numbers, maybe not. The city attracts still a huge number of visitors. Last months international arrivals at the Barcelona airport is +9%
On the other hand I can’t quite comprehend the results of the voting in general. International voters placed Monte- Carlo, Monaco at number 1? Are they serious? I thought we were in the middle of a crisis. Are just the rich still travelling? Why of all places Monaco? There are no attractions, no historical or natural treasures. What % of travellers actually go there to be able to give it such a great rating?
If the number 1 position is dubious, the rest of the Top 25 should be even more so.
So is the honeymoon with Barcelona over? Or is just that the Tripadvisor Top 25 is not worth the HTML code it is written in? Or maybe both.
Your opinions please!
About the author Oh-Barcelona
We are a leading holiday accommodation provider, with a fantastic choice of affordable rental apartments, hotels and hostels in the Catalan capital.
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11 Comments
I discovered your blog site on google and checked a few of your early posts. Great stuff. I’ve added your RSS to my reader so expect a few random comments from me some time soon.
Hi me and my wife went to barcelona last august we were both blown away it is an amazing place i thought it was very clean apart from las rambas which for us is the most overated part of the city it has that tacky feel about it the best parts of the city for me are barri gotic where you just breathe in all that history you walk down a narrow cobbled street turn a corner and theres a great big church or square which takes your breath away passieg de gracia is the trendy fashionable part it oozes class and style great for peopkle watching .There is so much to see and do in barca the bus turistica is brilliant value you get to see everything from up high to fully take in the architecture i couldnt list everything because id be here all day on the safety side the only time we felt slightly uneasy was walking down some of the narrow alleyways leading from placa reiyal all in all an amazing city we would love to live and work there it makes london look very poor
Hi Matthew!
Great to hear you love Barcelona. It definately is an amazing city with so much culture and places to go and see. I would agree with you that Las Ramblas is overated. I myself feel that its not really what Barcelona is about and the crowds make it not a comfortable place to walk however saying this there is always so much going on there. It’s a nice aspect of the city that everywhere you look the architecture is beautful and different. Like you said Barrio Gotic is a lovely part of the city. I hope you enjoyed some of the lovely restuarants that Barcelona has to offer! If you are planning on returning and need any help with accommodation or advice on the city we are always happy to help!
James
Well by reading all those comments I would say that Geof made some points. I think that Monaco is lovely city as well but it’s differtent. You can’t really compare Barcelona with Monaco because Barcelona is such a big city and Monaco is just a city along the beach of France.
I think that people don’t really see Barcelona like Ooohh Barcelona I have to see that city once in my lifetime. Barcelona is getting more normal nothing really special if you compare it to New York for example. People can come here everytime because the flights and everything is getting cheaper. You can already fly for 10 euros with ryanair!
And about the crime: you can get robbed everywhere it doesn’t matter in which city you are. Just watch your bag all time! Maybe the thiefs in Barcelona are bit smarter and they have more tricks.
That’s was all and I love the city of Barcelona, it feels like a second home to me!
I have been in Barcelona quite often as a tourist before and I never felt unsafe or insecure. I think Rochelle is right by saying that “forums have just spread the fear on Barcelona’s pickpocketing”. I always considered the city a bit boring, unspectacular and dirty as well, maybe gloomy (go to Raval or Barrio Gotico). Living here has changed my mind completely…What can I say. This city is amazing, it never sleeps and it’s totally manic. From time to tome you really need to take a rest and remember to breathe. You have everything you need and even more. For me, it is pobably the best city of Europe. Forget about London, Paris or Berlin.
And what is going on in Monaco? Normal holiday makers go there maybe for one day to visit the city, they couldn’t even afford to stay longer. Who wants to see all the posh with their yachts and the big bottles of expensive Champagne. Come on, you cannot tell me that you actually consider Monaco as the new place to be for European travellers. Insane….
Yo simplemente creo que en Europa hay muchìsima competencia entre los destinos turisticos principales y sobretodo en este momento de crisis! No creo que Barcelona haya perdido puntos porquè es una ciudad peligrosa…para mi es muy viva mas no peligrosa!
Pienso que a mi no me gusta para nada Monte Carlo y tambien no voy a leer nada sobre esta ciudad, al contrario Barcelona me encanta y me gustaria vivir allì. Siempre estoy interesada a las noticias sobre Barcelona!
A mi me pone un poquito loca ver que Monte Carlo està mas visidada de Barcelona.
Rosalba