There’s more good news for Spain’s tourism sector, with employment continuing to rise at a steady pace. In March, the number of workers linked to tourism activities increased by 115,044, pushing the total workforce to just over 2.87 million, according to Turespaña.
That marks a 4.2% increase compared to the same month last year, clearly ahead of the overall labour market, which grew by 2.5% over the same period. Tourism now accounts for 13.2% of all registered workers in Spain.
Tourism employment: Hospitality leads the way
Most of that growth came from hospitality. The sector added 86,017 workers, with strong gains in both accommodation services and food and beverage businesses.
Other tourism-related activities also expanded, bringing in an additional 39,268 workers. Travel agencies, however, moved in the opposite direction, losing 10,241 jobs during the same period.
Employees drive the increase
Salaried workers continue to power the sector’s growth. They now make up 82.5% of tourism employment, with numbers rising by 4.9% year-on-year.
Accommodation services saw the strongest jump, with employment up nearly 10%, while food and beverage services posted more moderate growth. In contrast, travel agencies and tour operators recorded a drop of 9.1% in salaried staff.
Self-employment shows mixed picture
Self-employed workers, who account for 17.5% of the sector, saw a slight overall increase of 0.7%.
Within hospitality, numbers edged up, helped by a sharp rise in accommodation-related activity. Meanwhile, self-employment in travel agencies fell significantly, dropping by more than 28%.
Regional growth led by the islands
Nearly every region reported growth in tourism employment, with the exception of Ceuta and Melilla.
Andalusia recorded the largest increase in absolute numbers, while the fastest growth rate came from the Balearic Islands, where employment rose by 11.1%. Cantabria also posted strong gains, reinforcing the broader upward trend across the country.
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