Spain, a destination for cultural, natural and gastronomic activities and experiences | News
Cultural activities remain the main product in Spain’s tourism offer, although travelers – especially international visitors – show a strong interest in active tourism, nature and gastronomy. This is one of the main conclusions of the report Radiografía de la oferta y demanda de actividades y experiencias en España (Mapping activities and experiences, supply and demand in Spain), presented at the 5th Turespaña Convention in Cáceres by Mabrian, the global consultancy partner in travel information and tourism.
This is the first study to provide a comprehensive analysis of the online market for tourism activities in Spain. For this report (free to download), Mabrian examined supply and demand trends for experiences marketed through major online activity platforms (Civitatis and GetYourGuide) in Spain’s 17 autonomous communities, using data from June, July and August 2025.
“This segment of the ancillary services market plays a decisive role in shaping the positioning of a destination. It reflects both the richness of Spain’s tourism offer and the commitment of regional and local entrepreneurship initiatives, as well as the policies for the development of tourism products and services that our country embraces,” said Miguel Sanz, General Manager of Turespaña.
A highly concentrated map of opportunities
Mabrian’s data shows that 43.6% of all online activities and experiences available in Spain are concentrated in cultural tourism, linked to local heritage and art. This is followed by active tourism (21.4%), nature (19%) and gastronomy (12.4%).
Key subcategories include cultural and natural heritage activities, adventure tourism, and wine and gastronomic experiences. Smaller segments include wellness activities, nightlife and family-friendly packages.
Analysis by the autonomous community reveals two trends. In some regions, specialized offers dominate, reflecting their specific territorial characteristics – for example, cultural activities in the Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha regions; nature experiences on the Balearic Islands; active tourism in the Canary Islands and Aragon; and gastronomy in La Rioja and the Basque Country. On the other hand, regions such as Andalusia and Catalonia have a more diversified offering.
The report also highlights a strong geographical concentration of activity on offer: 88% of online experiences in Spain are concentrated in Andalusia, Catalonia, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community and Madrid. These are followed by the Basque Country, Galicia and Castile and León. The other regions each account for 1% or less of the total online activity offering.
The high satisfaction of travelers indicates diversification opportunities
From a traveler profile perspective, the report identifies couples (36.7%) and families (36%) as the key demand segments for activities available on online platforms. Groups account for 17% and individual travelers for 10%. Destinations attracting the highest proportion of couples include Extremadura, La Rioja and Castilla-La Mancha, while Murcia, Navarra and Aragon lead the way in demand for families.
The analysis also examines demand behavior both domestically and in five key international markets: the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and the United States. Cultural experiences drive demand in the domestic, Italian and American markets. However, in other major European markets (Britain, Germany and France), nature and active tourism experiences are surpassing cultural offerings in popularity.
Another important finding concerns traveler satisfaction. Overall satisfaction with the online activity offering in Spain is excellent, with an average rating of 9.3 out of 10. American travelers gave the highest ratings (9.5), followed by British, German and Italian visitors (9.3). French travelers and the domestic market scored slightly lower at 9.2, just below the national average (9.3).
The highest rated experiences are shopping (9.5/10), gastronomy and wellness (9.4/10). These categories achieve high satisfaction, despite the fact that they are less represented in terms of offer than the cultural or active offer. Furthermore, active tourism experiences (9.4/10) are also among the best rated of the markets analyzed.
“Understanding the market for tourism activities and experiences through comprehensive and timely data provides a global perspective on this crucial link in Spain’s tourism value chain,” said Carlos Cendra, Partner and Marketing & Communications Director at Mabrian, part of The Data Appeal Company – Almawave Group.
“This intelligence is key to designing more effective strategies, tailoring the offering of experiences to travelers’ real interests. This in turn increases traveler satisfaction and maximizes the economic impact of tourism expenditure in all autonomous communities,” Cendra emphasizes.
