Benidorm vs Palma

Palma leads Benidorm by 3 points on the CIRA Index, 54 to 51. Benidorm grades better on 8 measures, Palma on 11; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Benidorm 51, Palma 54
• OECD: Benidorm 52, Palma 53
• UN Tourism: Benidorm 49, Palma 51
• UNDRR: Benidorm 55, Palma 54

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Benidorm 71, Palma 46
• Economy and jobs: Benidorm 67, Palma 83
• Climate and hazards: Benidorm 45, Palma 55
• Water and environment: Benidorm 38, Palma 38
• Community and housing: Benidorm 25, Palma 35
• Access and continuity: Benidorm 58, Palma 69

Where Benidorm is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 33.3 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). Between 30 and 35: grade 3/4.
• Domestic share of nights: 32.2 % of nights by residents of the same country (Visit Benidorm / Ayuntamiento de Benidorm, Informe Anual de Turismo presentado en FITUR 2026, 2025). Between 25 and 35: grade 2/4.
• Recovery against 2019: 132.1 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Visit Benidorm / Ayuntamiento de Benidorm, 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 82.2 % average annual occupancy (Fundación Visit Benidorm / HOSBEC, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 2.4 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 100 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Ayuntamiento de Benidorm & Generalitat Valenciana (EPSAR), 2024). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Air route concentration: 50.6 % of international air passengers on routes to the 3 largest partner countries (metro figure) (Aena, detailed traffic statistics (passengers by airline, route and country), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026). Between 50 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Smart Travel News / Ayuntamiento de Benidorm, 2020–2024). Grade 2/4.

Where Palma is stronger

• 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.
• Income per head: 59,868 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 45,000 and 60,000: 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.
• Municipal waste per resident: 661.4 kg per resident per year (region figure) (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Estadística sobre recogida y tratamiento de residuos, 2023). Between 550 and 700: grade 1/4.
• Green space: 11 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (European Environment Agency (EEA), Urban Atlas / Urban Tree Cover and Green Space dataset, 2018). Between 10 and 20: grade 1/4.
• Tourism intensity: 21.1 visitor nights per resident per year (INE (Encuesta de Ocupación Hotelera & Censo Anual de Población), 2023). Between 20 and 40: grade 1/4.
• 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.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Aena / Autoritat Portuària de Balears / Consell de Mallorca, 2026). Between 3 and 4: 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

Benidorm in full · Palma in full

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