8 European cities most affected by terrorism

Summer bookings are up 3% in Barcelona. Pictured: Antoni Gaudi’s Casa Batllo (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There’s an interesting report out this week that shows how the recent terror attacks in Brussels have affected summer travel bookings to Europe.

Some cities are faring just fine. But others have taken a big hit according to a report by ForwardKeys, a company that uses big data to predict future travel bookings.

While advance bookings for summer trips as of March 29 are down 5% overall, some European cities will actually see more visitors this summer. The data show higher bookings in Amsterdam (+1%), Madrid (+2%) and Barcelona (+3%).

But other cities won’t fare as well. For example, bookings to Istanbul are down a painful 36%. In Brussels, they are down 24%, and Paris is down 13%.

The report states, “The bomb attacks in Brussels have severely affected flight bookings to the Belgium capital. In the days following the attacks on 22 March, net bookings – new bookings minus cancellations – fell by 136% when compared with last year.” By comparison, bookings to Paris dropped 101% in the aftermath of the attacks there last year.