Tourism employment in Spain surpasses 2.87 million workers

International

Sector workforce grows by 4.2% year-on-year in March, according to Turespaña data

Employment in Spain’s tourism industry continued to expand in March, reaching more than 2.87 million affiliated workers. According to figures released by Turespaña, the sector recorded an increase of 115,044 registered employees compared with the same month last year, representing year-on-year growth of 4.2 percent.

The tourism workforce continues to grow faster than Spain’s overall labour market. While total national employment rose by 2.5 percent year-on-year in March, tourism-related jobs accounted for 13.2 percent of all affiliated workers in the country.

Hospitality drives most of the employment growth

The strongest employment gains were recorded in the hospitality sector, where the number of registered workers increased by 86,017. This includes an additional 39,319 employees in accommodation services and 46,698 in food and beverage services.

Other tourism-related activities also recorded an increase, adding 39,268 workers compared with the previous year.

In contrast, employment in travel agencies declined in March, with 10,241 fewer registered workers than in the same month of the previous year.

Employee jobs rise while self-employment grows slightly

In March, salaried employment in tourism increased by 4.9 percent year-on-year. Salaried workers account for 82.5 percent of total employment in the sector.

By activity segment, salaried employment decreased among travel agencies and tour operators, where it fell by 9.1 percent. In hospitality, however, salaried employment rose by 5.4 percent overall. Within the sector, accommodation services recorded particularly strong growth of 9.9 percent, while employment in food and beverage services increased by 4.1 percent.

Self-employed workers, who represent 17.5 percent of the tourism workforce, saw a modest increase of 0.7 percent overall.

Within hospitality, self-employment rose by 2 percent, supported by strong growth in accommodation services and a slight increase in food and beverage businesses. By contrast, the number of self-employed workers in travel agencies declined significantly, falling by 28.3 percent compared with the previous year.

Balearic Islands record strongest employment growth

In March 2026, employment in hospitality as well as travel agencies and tour operators increased in almost all Spanish regions. The only exceptions were Ceuta and Melilla.

In absolute terms, the largest increase in employment was recorded in Andalusia. In relative terms, however, the strongest growth was seen in the Balearic Islands, where tourism employment rose by 11.1 percent year-on-year. Andalusia and Cantabria followed with the next highest relative increases.

The figures underline the continued importance of tourism as a key driver of employment in Spain’s economy, particularly in regions with strong seasonal demand.