Tourism Social Thermometer: Spain fails

Tourism Social Thermometer: Spain fails

27-10-25

Public perception of tourism in Spain continues to deteriorate and has entered clear “failing” territory. According to the latest reading of LLYC’s Tourism Perception Barometer, the index fell in summer (July–September 2025) to 4.3 out of 10, four tenths lower than in spring, confirming a downward trend fed mainly by discontent over overcrowding and housing pressure in the most stressed destinations. This reputational thermometer—which analyzes quarterly digital conversation across social networks, forums, and online media—places the sector before an urgent challenge: reconciling growth with local well-being, aligning the visitor experience with residents’ quality of life, and curbing the most visible impacts of tourism’s success.

The decline is not cyclical: since the start of the series in January 2022, tourism’s reputation has fallen by 35%. In July 2025, LLYC had already detected a notable decrease, with a quarterly drop of 1.2 points (from 5.9 to 4.7) linked to the rise of critical messages about gentrification, saturation of public spaces, and the loss of access to housing. The autumn reading deepens the slide: from a score of 4.7 in the second quarter down to 4.3 in the third, consolidating a public mood that is more demanding of the tourism model and of how its expansion is being managed.

The map by autonomous communities shows clear asymmetries. Large cities and coastal areas with high tourism intensity concentrate the negative conversation, where complaints about overcrowding, noise, coexistence, and rising rents carry the most weight. Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the Region of Valencia, Madrid, Andalusia, and the Basque Country appear repeatedly in the spotlight when the highest-reach discussion threads are analyzed. In parallel, several northern and inland territories—with products more closely tied to nature, heritage, and low density—sustain relatively better assessments, buoyed by positive themes (landscape, culture, sustainability, authenticity) and lower urban pressure. In this mosaic, some island destinations have managed to stabilize their perception temporarily with management measures and pro-sustainability messaging, though they remain under public scrutiny due to the overcrowding-housing tandem.

The barometer’s methodology helps explain why this reputational snapshot matters to governments and businesses. LLYC cross-references the volume and tone of more than 4.6 million messages since 2022 to build a 0–10 index adjusted for population and origin of the conversation (internal to each community versus external). It also identifies dominant topics and their seasonal evolution. This approach makes it possible to visualize emerging risks by territory, assess the impact of decisions (short-term rental regulation, tourist taxes, capacity limits, and coexistence ordinances), and guide campaigns that reduce friction between residents and visitors. In practical terms, the findings point to three immediate levers: planning tourist flows to cut peak saturation; effective housing policies that decouple rental pressure from tourism demand; and a credible territorial narrative that highlights tangible socioeconomic benefits (quality jobs, investment in neighborhoods, preservation of heritage) without whitewashing the costs.

For the sector, the message is twofold. On one hand, tourism’s economic strength remains beyond doubt—Spain closed 2024 at historic highs and spending forecasts for 2025 are robust—yet the social license to operate can no longer be taken for granted: how tourism grows now matters as much as how much it grows. On the other hand, public conversation has become more sophisticated; promotional campaigns are not enough if day-to-day problems with coexistence and access to housing persist. Looking ahead to 2026, the destinations that improve their perception will be those that turn sustainability into everyday management: organizing public space, fostering gentle mobility, diversifying products in the shoulder and off-seasons, and practicing participatory governance with neighbors and businesses. Reputation has, in short, become a first-order strategic KPI: when it drops to 4.3 out of 10, it doesn’t merely warn—it demands action.

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