Tourism employment surpasses 2.87 million registered workers after increasing by 4.2% in March

The labour market continues to offer positive news for the tourism industry. In March, the number of registered workers linked to tourism activities increased by 115,044, reaching a total of slightly more than 2.87 million workers, according to data published today by Turespaña. This represents an increase of 4.2% over the same month last year. In relation to the labour market of the country as a whole, which grew by 2.5% year-on-year this month, tourism employment accounts for 13.2% of the total number of registered workers.

The change in contributor numbers was positive in hotels and catering, where an increase of 86,017 contributors was recorded (39,319 in accommodation services and 46,698 in food and beverage services). However, the change in March was negative in travel agencies, where a decrease of 10,241 workers was recorded. In other tourism activities the figure increased by 39,268 workers.

Wage earners grow by 4.9%.

In the third month of the year, the number of employees in the tourism sector (accounting for 82.5%) increased by 4.9% compared to the same month last year. By branch of activity, salaried employment decreased in travel agencies and tour operators (-9.1%) and increased in hospitality (5.4%), and within this sector, it increased by 9.9% in accommodation services and by 4.1% in food and beverage services.

Meanwhile, self-employment in the tourism sector, which accounts for 17.5% of all registered workers, rose slightly, by 0.7%. The hotel and catering sector saw a 2% increase, driven by growth in accommodation services (23.3%) and food and beverage services (0.3%). Travel agencies saw a year-on-year decline of 28.3% in the number of self-employed workers.

The Balearic Islands saw the strongest job growth

In March 2026, employment across the hospitality, travel agency, and tour operator sectors increased in all Autonomous Communities except Ceuta and Melilla. In absolute terms, the largest increases occurred in Andalusia, while in relative terms, the largest increase was in the Balearic Islands (11.1%), followed by Andalusia and Cantabria.

Non official translation