Not the best news to start the year with and especially when the FITURSpanish tourism fair opens in Madrid. Apparently, the reputation of tourism in Spain fell to 5.4 points out of ten in 2025 despite the improvement in the last quarter, according to the third edition of the “Tourism Perception Barometer”, a tool developed by the marketing and corporate affairs consultancy LLYC that analyses the regional situation based on digital conversation.
The average score fell by one tenth of a point, the lowest figure since the historical series began four years ago, because although there was more positive news from October to December, the sector’s image continues to be marked by overcrowding and its impact on housing prices. In addition, in many autonomous communities, public discontent is growing over security issues, the state of infrastructure and the lack of investment in transport.
This barometer, which is updated every three months and has analysed 5.26 million digital messages since the start of the series (1.1 million in the last year and more than 240,000 in the last quarter) from social networks, online media and specialised forums, indicates that Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia continue to account for more than half of the digital conversation analysed over the last year.
With regard to the data for the last quarter, LLYC indicates that all the autonomous communities have improved their tourism perception, except for Extremadura (-0.4 points), which has been influenced by criticism on social media for the lack of promotion of the city of Badajoz in regional campaigns. In contrast, the largest increases were recorded in the Balearics (+2.9 points), Madrid (+2.5) and Asturias (+2.1). However, when looking at the overall picture for last year, Galicia (-0.7 points on average), the Valencian Community (-0.5), Castilla La Mancha and the Canary Islands (both -0.4) have worsened the most.
Meanwhile, La Rioja (with a rise of 1.4 points), Navarra (+1.1), Aragón (+0.8) and Asturias (+0.7) have improved particularly well. In fact, Asturias ended 2025 as the region with the best tourist perception in Spain, with an average score of 7.6 points. Culture and nature continue to be its main attractions, with messages about a ‘unique’ experience. These factors also have an impact on Extremadura (7.4), Aragón (7.2), Castilla y León (7), Navarra (6.9) and Cantabria (6.8), which are next on the list.
However, Catalonia continues to lag behind with a score of four out of ten last year. ‘The problems of gentrification, infrastructure and security continue to be the main topics of concern in the digital conversation among its citizens,’ notes the analysis, adding that the Valencian Community (4.8) and Madrid (4.9) also fail to reach the pass mark.
The Basque Country (5), the Balearics (5.1) and Galicia (5.2) are also below the national average. Finally, the consultancy firm has highlighted that this barometer allows social perceptions to be monitored in the short and medium term. ‘Its objective is not to replace traditional indicators, but to complement them with a reputational and social perspective, which is key to building a more conscious and legitimate tourism industry,’ they stress, emphasising that with this initiative they are reaffirming their commitment to ‘rigorous analysis and the use of artificial intelligence as tools to design tourism strategies that are more connected to citizens’ expectations’.