Málaga vs Seville

Málaga leads Seville by 7 points on the TRAIL Index, 66 to 59. Málaga grades better on 7 measures, Seville on 4; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• TRAIL Index: Málaga 66, Seville 59
• OECD: Málaga 65, Seville 59
• UN Tourism: Málaga 69, Seville 58
• UNDRR: Málaga 64, Seville 56

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Málaga 75, Seville 75
• Economy and jobs: Málaga 63, Seville 58
• Climate and hazards: Málaga 45, Seville 35
• Water and environment: Málaga 63, Seville 50
• Community and housing: Málaga 65, Seville 56
• Access and continuity: Málaga 73, Seville 70

Where Málaga is stronger

• Unemployment rate: 17.1 % of the labour force (Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía (IECA), SIMA municipal sheet: Tasa municipal de desempleo, 2025). Between 12 and 18: grade 1/4.
• 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.
• 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.
• Green space: 15.8 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (ISGlobal / The Lancet Planetary Health - 'Cooling cities through urban green infrastructure', 2023). Between 10 and 20: grade 1/4.
• 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.
• Rent growth: 4.7 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Idealista, 'Rental property report', 2025). Between 3 and 6: grade 3/4.
• 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 Seville is stronger

• Average length of stay: 2.2 nights per visitor (Smart Tourism Office (Ayuntamiento de Sevilla), Informe anual 2025, 2025). Between 2.2 and 2.8: grade 2/4.
• Tropical nights: 78.6 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.
• Cruise pressure: 0 cruise passengers in the busiest month per resident (Puertos del Estado, monthly port traffic summaries ("Cuadros resumen", cruise passengers incl. home port and transit), 2025-04). At or below 0: grade 4/4.
• Rail share of intercity access: 36.2 % of intercity passengers travelling by long-distance rail (rail vs rail + airport) (Ministerio de Transportes, Observatorio del Ferrocarril en España 2024 (rail, by city) and Eurostat avia_paoa (airport), 2024). Between 35 and 50: 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 · Seville in full

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