Employment in Spain’s tourism sector is on the rise: according to data published by Turespaña, the National Institute of Tourism Promotion, July saw a 3.5% increase in employment (+97,282 workers) compared to July 2023. Currently, employment in tourism is approaching 3 million workers (2,965,784 to be exact), representing 13.7% of the total workforce in Spain.
These positive figures reflect growth across all sectors of Spanish tourism. In the hotel and restaurant sector, employment increased by 52,383 workers (19,288 in accommodation services and 33,095 in food services), and in travel agencies it reached 3,971 workers. Other tourism-related activities saw a total increase of 40,928 employees.
Employment growth especially in the Canary Islands and Madrid
Both employees (+4% compared to July 2023) and self-employed workers (+1%) experienced growth. Employees represent 82.5% of the total workforce in the tourism sector, while self-employed workers account for 17.5%. By sector, employment among employees increased in tour operators (+5.7%) and in hotels and restaurants (+3.3%). Among self-employed workers, there was a 6.5% increase in travel agencies, while the hotel and restaurant sector saw a slight decrease (-0.1%).
The Canary Islands (+4.7% year-on-year), Madrid (+3.9%), and the Autonomous Communities saw the highest increases in tourism employment in July; however, there was a decline in Extremadura and in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. In absolute terms, the largest increase was recorded in Andalusia (+11,171 employed), followed by the Community of Madrid (+8,815), Catalonia (+7,923), and the Canary Islands (+7,632).
Photo by Helena Lopes
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