Málaga vs Palma

Málaga leads Palma by 12 points on the TRAIL Index, 66 to 54. Málaga grades better on 14 measures, Palma on 7; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• TRAIL Index: Málaga 66, Palma 54
• OECD: Málaga 65, Palma 53
• UN Tourism: Málaga 69, Palma 51
• UNDRR: Málaga 64, Palma 54

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Málaga 75, Palma 46
• Economy and jobs: Málaga 63, Palma 83
• Climate and hazards: Málaga 45, Palma 55
• Water and environment: Málaga 63, Palma 38
• Community and housing: Málaga 65, Palma 35
• Access and continuity: Málaga 73, Palma 69

Where Málaga is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 28.9 % of annual nights (Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible (INSTO): Evolución mensual de las pernoctaciones, 2025). At or below 30: grade 4/4.
• Domestic share of nights: 26.9 % of nights by residents of the same country (Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible (INSTO): Evolución anual de las pernoctaciones, 2025). Between 25 and 35: grade 2/4.
• Largest foreign market: 17.2 % of international arrivals or nights (INE, foreign tourists by municipality and country of residence (mobile-phone positioning, table 52048), 2025). Between 15 and 20: grade 3/4.
• Recovery against 2019: 147.5 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible (INSTO): Evolución anual de las pernoctaciones, 2025 vs 2019). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 81.2 % average annual occupancy (INE, Encuesta de Ocupación Hotelera, puntos turísticos (monthly, tables 2078 and 2076), 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 11 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 5 and 15: grade 3/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 100 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (EMASA (Empresa Municipal de Aguas de Málaga), Estaciones Depuradoras de Aguas Residuales, 2026). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 425.4 kg per resident per year (Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible (INSTO): Cantidad de toneladas de Residuos Sólidos Urbanos (RSU) recogidos por habitante y año, 2025). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4.
• Tourism intensity: 8.4 visitor nights per resident per year (Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible (INSTO): Evolución anual de las pernoctaciones, 2025). Between 5 and 10: grade 3/4.
• Cruise pressure: 0.2 cruise passengers in the busiest month per resident (Puertos del Estado, monthly port traffic summaries ("Cuadros resumen", cruise passengers incl. home port and transit), 2025-10). Between 0.1 and 0.3: grade 2/4.
• Resident support for tourism: 79.7 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Observatorio de Turismo Sostenible (INSTO): Opinión de los residentes sobre el turismo, 2023). At or above 70: grade 4/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Ayuntamiento de Málaga - Área de Turismo, Visita Málaga, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Air route concentration: 43 % of international air passengers on routes to the 3 largest partner countries (Aena, detailed traffic statistics (passengers by airline, route and country), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026). Between 35 and 50: grade 3/4.

Where Palma is stronger

• Average length of stay: 5.1 nights per visitor (region figure) (Govern de les Illes Balears / Consell Econòmic i Social de les Illes Balears (CES), 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 6.1 % of the labour force (region figure) (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA), Q2 2026). Between 5 and 8: grade 3/4.
• Tropical nights: 93.2 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 60 and 100: grade 1/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Short-let density: 0.5 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Medición del número de viviendas turísticas en España y su capacidad (via Ultima Hora), November 2024). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.
• Largest airline group share: 24.6 % of airport passengers carried by the largest airline group (Aena, detailed traffic statistics (passengers by airline, route and country), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026). Between 20 and 30: grade 3/4.
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source partly ring-fenced for residents, infrastructure or sustainability (Govern de les Illes Balears, Ley 2/2016 del impuesto sobre estancias turísticas en las Illes Balears y de medidas de impulso del turismo sostenible, 2024-2026). Grade 3/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Spain: #3 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Spain: #3 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Málaga in full · Palma in full

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