Spanish Tourism Industry Employs 6.5% More People Compared to 2022

Almost three million people were employed in the tourism sector in Spain during the third quarter of 2023. According to the data published by the Spanish tourism office, Turespana, this number represents an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

180,604 more people were employed in tourism-related activities between July and September 2023 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The autonomous communities that have marked the highest number of employees during this quarter are Catalonia (513,831), Madrid (424,390), Valencian Community (297,481), and the Canary Islands (267,801).

This quarter, the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent, 0.4 percent less compared to the second quarter of this year and less than it was in the same quarter of 2022.

We continue to transform the material conditions of employment linked to tourism: more employed, more salaried, more permanent contracts and more full-time jobs: in short, more and better jobs to reinforce the social nature of tourism.

Hector Gomez, Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism

While compared to the second quarter of 2023, the majority of the third quarter’s growth has been among employees. Salaried employees and employees with long-term contracts have marked an increase, too. However, the number of employees with temporary contracts and self-employees has decreased compared to the same period last year.

Gomez claims that the growth of employees with permanent contracts marks a milestone in the history of the Spanish tourism industry.

In addition to the number of employees, the primary tourism sectors have experienced growth during this period, as follows:

• Hospitality sector increased by 7.7 per cent;
• Food and beverage service increased by 7.9 percent;
• Accommodation services increased by a percent;
• Passenger transport increased by 10.9 percent.

Tourism in Spain has marked a significant increase in general. The latest data from the National Institute of Statistics of Spain (INE) revealed that tourists in Spain spent two million more overnight stays in September 2023 compared to the same month last year.

Whereas the Spanish Ministry of Tourism has revealed that 73.2 million international passengers visited Spain between January and September of 2023.

According to Turespana, in 2023, tourism spending in Spain is projected to exceed the 2019 record. These data also show that Spain remains the European market of choice for the United Kingdom, surpassing Germany and France.