European perception of the U.S.: Why sentiment is becoming a competitive factor

Traveler perception is playing an increasingly important role in shaping European demand for the United States. After improving in 2025, perception indices for early 2026 show a decline and highlight clear opportunities to improve the overall travel experience.

This is one of the key insights from the report The Evolution of European Demand to the U.S.: Understanding Shifting Travel Patterns, developed by Data Appeal in collaboration with Phocuswright.

In 2025, perception improved, but room for growth remains

The proprietary indices analyzed by Data Appeal Mabrian show that, between 2025 and 2026, perception among EU28 countries (Europe and United Kingdom) toward the U.S. tourism offer, hotel hospitality, climate and safety has been uneven, likely influenced by the current highly unstable political and economic environment.

Looking at 2025, the indices improved compared with 2023:

• The Global Tourism Perception Index (GTPI), which measures travelers’ overall perception of a destination, reached 59.3 out of 100 (+9 points).
• The Tourism Product Satisfaction Index (TPI), which analyzes perception of individual tourism products — such as culture, gastronomy and family activities — stabilized at 51.6 points (+7).
• The Safety Perception Index (PSI), related to destination safety perception, reached a strong score of 81.4 (+12.5).
• The Climate Perception Index (PCI), which measures perception of the local climate, reached 80.6 points (+2.4).
• The Hotel Satisfaction Index (HSI), which measures hotel-related perception within the destination, stood at 59.1 (+6.8).
• The HSI also provides a deeper view of satisfaction by hotel category: 58 for 3-star hotels (+7.7), 60.9 for 4-star hotels (+5.2) and 65.1 for 5-star hotels (+3.7).

Overall, the 2025 picture is positive, but it also shows room for improvement.

Despite increasing by +9 points and reaching 59.3 out of 100, the Global Tourism Perception Index remains moderate compared with other relevant destinations worldwide, highlighting the need to take a closer look at the factors affecting its performance.

Safety and climate are the two areas where the United States performs most strongly in the eyes of European travelers, with both reaching scores above 80.

The Tourism Product Satisfaction Index (TPI) and the Hotel Satisfaction Index (HSI) also improved in 2025 compared with 2023. However, their absolute values — 51.6 and 59.1, respectively — remain moderate, pointing to significant room for improvement in the perceived quality of the tourism and accommodation offer.

The main exception is the HSI for 5-star hotels, which reached 65.1 in 2025, reflecting a stronger performance in the U.S. premium hotel segment.

These indices show that European travelers are a discerning audience, with high expectations for a world-class destination such as the United States — expectations that are not always fully met.

New pressure signals emerge in 2026

A fuller reading of European perception also requires looking at the first months of 2026. Analyzing this period helps assess whether recent international tensions may have had an impact on destination perception among European travelers.

Between January and April 2026, all main indices declined compared with the same period in 2025: overall perception, represented by the GTPI, fell to 56.6 (-1.5 points). Significant declines were also recorded in the TPI (-1.2), PCI (-1.6) and 5-star HSI (-3.3). Safety perception also declined, although it remained positive (-0.7).

This trend suggests that European travelers’ perception of the United States is entering a more sensitive phase, one that destinations should monitor closely to remain competitive in the long-haul travel market.

Perception varies by market: Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain

Data Appeal Mabrian’s perception indices are available not only at an aggregate level, but also by country of origin, allowing for a more granular analysis of emerging trends.

This type of data is particularly useful for destinations and institutions. It helps them identify nuances and differentiating patterns that can support investment optimization, improve visitor satisfaction across key source markets and better align with travelers’ expectations.

Germany

German travelers show a positive perception of the U.S. tourism experience between 2023 and 2025, especially regarding climate (80.1, up 4.2 points) and safety (78.8, up 12 points). Unlike the aggregate trend, early 2026 data does not show major negative shifts, with the exception of the PSI, which declined by 1.3 points, possibly influenced by new conflicts involving the U.S.

United Kingdom

British travelers show a more moderate overall perception compared with the European aggregate: the GTPI reached 55.2, up 8.5 points compared with 2023 and stable in the first months of 2026 (+0.3). In this case as well, the only index that stands out for a particularly positive perception is the PSI (83.3), although it declined slightly in early 2026 (-0.6).

Italy

Italy stands out as the only market among those analyzed where the 2026 year-over-year comparison shows a decline across all perception indicators, signaling a broader softening of sentiment. At the same time, 2025 values are largely higher than those recorded in the other analyzed countries and above the European aggregate: they range from 63.1 for the 3-star HSI to 84.3 for the PSI. This means that Italian travelers have a particularly positive perception of the U.S., but the data also suggests greater sensitivity to the recent international context.

France

French travelers also show a generally positive perception in 2025 compared with 2023. However, in absolute terms, some scores point to broad room for improvement, especially in accommodation: the HSI reached only 49.3 points in 2025 (+8.3), well below the European aggregate (59.1). Safety perception is positive (82.2) and remained stable in early 2026 (+0.2 year-over-year). French travelers therefore appear to be a particularly demanding audience, with higher expectations for hospitality standards.

Spain

Spain shows a very moderate GTPI compared with the European aggregate (49.6). Perception of the tourism offer, measured by the TPI, is also particularly low: 37.5 in 2025, although it increased by 9.9 points in early 2026. All other indices also improved in early 2026, with particularly strong growth in the 5-star HSI (+10.8 points) and the TPI (+9.9 points).

These findings clearly show that, when it comes to perception, segmenting the data helps identify both cross-market patterns and country-specific trends. This makes it possible to detect the issues that require targeted action or, conversely, the strengths worth investing in.

Proprietary perception indices: what they are and how they are calculated

The perception expressed by travelers on social media and online review sites increasingly affects the international tourism landscape, influencing demand, behavior, preferences, and the entire booking process.

For DMOs, institutions and other tourism stakeholders, perception indices are therefore a reliable compass for understanding travelers and quickly defining effective short- and long-term strategies: from investment management and positioning to marketing budget allocation, focus on specific source markets and the development of new tourism products aligned with people’s preferences.

Data Appeal Mabrian’s perception indices analyze several aspects of the tourism experience:

• GTPI – Global Tourism Perception Index

Measures overall destination perception by combining satisfaction with the tourism product, safety, and climate.

• TPI – Tourism Product Satisfaction Index

Analyzes visitor satisfaction expressed on social media regarding the destination’s main tourism products, including culture, gastronomy, nature, shopping, nightlife, family activities, wellness, active lifestyle, and sun and beach.

• PSI – Safety Perception Index

Measures safety perception based on social media mentions related to this topic.

• PCI – Climate Perception Index

Assesses perception of the local climate, mainly considering the volume and sentiment of comments related to weather and climate conditions on social media.

• HSI – Hotel Satisfaction Index

Measures hotel satisfaction within the destination, also by hotel category, based on reviews published on major travel platforms.

The indices are expressed on a scale from 0 to 100 points. In general, the higher the score, the more positive travelers’ perception. For PSI and PCI, however, interpretation follows a specific logic: higher values indicate a lower incidence of negative comments related to safety and climate, respectively.

The rating scale is as follows:

• 0–24 points: very low level, priority area for intervention.
• 25–49 points: low level, with significant room for improvement.
• 50–74 points: good to very good level, with moderate room for improvement.
• 75–100 points: excellent level, to be maintained and consolidated.

4 reasons to monitor perception indices

Perception indices are not only useful for measuring sentiment: they help identify where to take action to strengthen destination competitiveness.

For DMOs, institutions and tourism stakeholders, monitoring them continuously means turning online opinions and conversations into faster, more targeted and measurable decisions.

1. Turn online conversations and reviews into measurable signals

Every day, travelers share thousands of opinions on social media, review sites and booking platforms — far too many for a destination to analyze manually. Perception indices make it possible to aggregate this content and turn it into KPIs that measure satisfaction, trust, and perceived quality.

2. Identify destination strengths and weaknesses

Reading the indices together with semantic analysis helps identify which aspects of the experience perform best and which require targeted action: safety, climate, tourism products, hospitality, services or specific hotel categories.

3. Monitor the impact of crises, events and changing scenarios

Conflicts, economic crises, climate events, and geopolitical shifts can quickly influence destination perception. Monitoring the indices helps detect pressure signals, understand which markets react more sensitively, and identify which ones are more likely to return to travel first.

4. Adapt communication, product and investment by market

Segmenting perception indices by country of origin makes it possible to calibrate messages, campaigns and investment priorities. This allows a destination to strengthen its competitive advantages, address weaknesses, and develop tourism products that are more aligned with the expectations of different markets.