Alert level ‘black’ in Madrid. It gets dangerous here before Christmas
The situation in Madrid is getting tense before Christmas. So many tourists come or plan to come here that the authorities decided to introduce a “black level” of alert. The streets of the Spanish capital may remain closed.
Alert level “black” could result in streets being closed in Madrid due to overcrowding over Christmas. There is already an increase in tourist traffic in Spain, and the hottest period is still a few days away.
Alert level ‘black’ in Madrid
The capital of Spain launched the so-called “black level” alert due to the large influx of tourists to the city during the holiday season.
This solution is implemented only in cases of exceptional saturation of public space and transport, and is aimed at managing safety and mobility in the city. The police will monitor the most crowded streets from the sky using drones. When the influx of people reaches its maximum, streets will be closed, allowing pedestrians to leave the area but not to enter it.
During the holiday season, the city will be monitored by approximately 450 City Guard officers, and on busy days up to 850 additional officers.
Which parts of Madrid may be affected by outages? Critical points in Madrid will be Preciados and El Carmen streets, Plaza del Celenque, the section of Calle Alcalá near Plaza de Cibeles and Gran Vía.
Tourism in Spain is growing every year
The number of tourists in Spain increases all year round, not just in December. In the first 10 months of 2022, Spain was visited by 74.7 million tourists, an increase of 18.2%. compared to the same period last year. In October, which is not a typical “tourist” month, the country was visited by 8.17 million foreign tourists – 13.9 percent more than last year. more than in October 2022. In November 2023, 3.3 million foreign tourists came to the country, which means an increase of 9.3%. compared to the same month of the previous year. Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia and the Scandinavian countries contributed most to the development of international tourism.
“We are changing the historical nature of our tourism,” says Jordi Hereu, Spanish Minister of Industry and Tourism. “Spain is still the leader, the revival of the sector is indisputable, but we are diversifying and removing the seasonality of flows, which results in more sustainable tourism, less dependent on the high summer season,” he adds.
