Tourism employment in Spain exceeds three million in September - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Spain’s tourism sector employed more than three million workers in September 2026, reflecting continued growth in one of the country’s most important economic activities. According to figures published by Turespaña, the number of workers registered with Social Security in tourism-related activities increased by 136,415 compared with September 2025, representing a year-on-year rise of 4.7%.

Tourism employment grew faster than the Spanish labour market as a whole, which recorded an annual increase of 3.4%. Workers in tourism-related activities accounted for approximately 13.7% of all Social Security affiliates nationwide. The figures underline the sector’s substantial contribution to employment, particularly in hospitality and accommodation services, where demand for workers continued to expand.

Hospitality businesses accounted for much of the increase, adding 88,413 registered workers compared with the previous year. Food and beverage services contributed 64,491 additional workers, while accommodation establishments recorded an increase of 23,922. Travel agencies, by contrast, registered a decline of 1,351 workers. However, Turespaña cautioned that this reduction was influenced by changes to Spain’s economic activity classification system, which transferred certain activities previously classified as travel agencies into other categories.

Salaried employment drives tourism growth

Salaried employees represented 83.2% of all registered tourism workers in September, with their numbers increasing by 5.2% compared with the same month in 2025.

Within hospitality, salaried employment also rose by 5.2%, with accommodation services and food and beverage establishments recording identical percentage increases. The figures indicate that both hotel operations and the wider restaurant and catering sector contributed to employment growth.

Travel agencies and tour operators recorded a 1.2% decline in salaried employment. However, the changes to the classification of economic activities make direct comparisons with previous years less straightforward.

Self-employed workers accounted for the remaining 16.8% of tourism employment. Their numbers increased by 1.9% year on year, although developments differed considerably between activities.

In hospitality, self-employment rose by 1.3%, supported particularly by accommodation services, where the number of self-employed workers increased by 16.9%. Travel agencies registered a 3.5% decline in self-employment, a development also affected by the revised classification system.

Valencia leads regional growth

Employment increased across all Spanish autonomous communities when considering hospitality, travel agencies and tour operators together.

Catalonia recorded the largest absolute increase, with 16,475 additional registered workers compared with September 2025. The region’s tourism employment grew by 5.2%, reflecting the continued importance of hospitality and tourism services to its regional economy.

The Valencian Community achieved the strongest relative growth, with employment increasing by 6% year on year. Castilla-La Mancha followed with a 5.5% increase, ahead of Catalonia at 5.2%.

These regional differences highlight the geographical breadth of tourism employment growth in Spain. While established tourism centres continue to generate substantial numbers of jobs, other regions are also recording significant increases in their tourism-related workforce.

The September results reinforce the importance of tourism as a source of employment across the Spanish economy. With tourism-related Social Security registrations growing more rapidly than overall employment, the sector continues to play a significant role in the country's labour market, particularly through accommodation, restaurants and other hospitality services.

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