Spain: Tourism employment closes record year with strong growth in December

International

Jobs in tourism rose by 2.4% year on year in December, bringing total employment to 2.75 million and capping a record-breaking 2025 for the sector

Tourism employment continued its upward trajectory at the end of 2025. In December, the number of people working in tourism-related activities reached 2,752,942, an increase of 2.4% compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data from Turespaña. In absolute terms, this represents 64,334 additional workers and extends the year-on-year growth trend that has been uninterrupted since June 2021.

Tourism remains a key pillar of the Spanish labour market. In December, jobs linked to tourism accounted for 12.7% of all workers registered with the Social Security system, underlining the sector’s weight within the wider economy, where overall employment grew by 2.3% year on year during the same period.

Growth across all tourism activities

Employment increased across all branches of tourism in December. Hospitality recorded a rise of 27,602 workers, driven by gains in both accommodation services, which added 9,028 employees, and food and beverage services, which grew by 18,574. Travel agencies also expanded their workforce, with an additional 1,038 employees, while other tourism-related activities together accounted for a further increase of 35,694 workers.

This broad-based growth highlights the sector’s resilience and its ability to generate employment across a wide range of services beyond traditional accommodation and catering.

Salaried employment continues to strengthen

The number of salaried employees in tourism, a key indicator used by the Ministry to assess improvements in job quality, rose by 2.7% year on year in December. Salaried workers now represent 81.7% of total tourism employment. Growth was recorded in both travel agencies and tour operators, where salaried employment increased by 1.3%, and in hospitality, which saw a 1.9% rise. Within hospitality, employment grew by 2.8% in accommodation services and by 1.7% in food and beverage services.

Self-employment in tourism also increased, though at a more moderate pace. The number of self-employed workers, who account for 18.3% of total tourism employment, rose by 0.8% year on year. In hospitality, self-employment grew by 0.3%, while travel agencies saw a stronger increase of 2.2%.

Regional differences in employment growth

In December 2025, employment in hospitality and travel agencies combined increased in all autonomous communities except Extremadura. In absolute terms, Andalusia recorded the largest increase in jobs, reflecting the size of its tourism sector. In relative terms, the strongest growth was observed in the Valencian Community, where employment rose by 3.4%.

Taken together, the December figures confirm that tourism employment not only closed 2025 at a record level, but also maintained momentum across regions and subsectors, reinforcing the sector’s central role in job creation.