Spain closed 2025 with record figures: 97 million foreign tourists and 135 billion euros in spending. Tourism now accounts for 12.6% of GDP (200 billion euros), 28% more than in 2019, the year before the pandemic, "which allows us to state that the activity of the tourism sector in our country is fully recovered," according to data from the latest CCOO report on the matter.
"This boom is not reflected in employment or in the working conditions of the workers," explain those from the union
"Temporality, employment volatility, and low wages remain structural features of a sector in which more than 600,000 companies operate and which employs nearly three million workers, who sustain the tourism industry."
The report reveals that 300,000 jobs were created during the peak season, although by the end of 2025 only 40,000 were consolidated, after 100,000 were lost in November, "which shows that the sector has room to generate more stable employment."
The Balearic Islands (23.5% of employment) and Canary Islands (16.8%) are the regions with the greatest labor dependence on tourism. They are followed by several Andalusian provinces such as Málaga, Cádiz, or Granada, along with territories in the Valencian Community (Alicante and Castellón) and Catalonia (Girona and Tarragona), where the weight of tourism employment also exceeds 10% of the total.
The hospitality industry is one of the main entry points into the workforce for the migrant population: foreign employment already represents 29% (448,000 people) of the sector and reaches 37% in Catalonia.
Part-time work reaches 33% in hospitality, in a highly feminized sector. Added to this are low wages, with 95% of employees earning below the national average wage.
Between 2019 and 2023, the weight of labor costs decreased from 33% to 31%, while the business surplus increased from 20% to 23%In short, working in tourism, particularly in hospitality, continues to be a "low-quality job opportunity, with exhausting shifts, low wages, and no opportunities for stability and professional development."The current tourism model generates increasing pressure on the territory and public services, especially in communities like the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Catalonia, and Andalusia, which concentrate the highest tourist saturationThe decline in the use of rural accommodations and hostels limits the development of more sustainable tourism linked to the local environment
Spain has become very attractive to foreign financial and real estate capital. In 2025, hotel investment grew by 28% and was mainly concentrated in destinations such as the Canary Islands, Barcelona, the Balearic Islands, and Madrid.
In this context, the hotel sector is betting on larger and higher-category establishments to consolidate luxury tourism. This strategy is reflected in the reduction of the supply of 1- to 3-star hotels and in the forecast of the opening of **52 new five-star hotels in 2026.**
Main Markets and Two-Speed Tourism
The United Kingdom, Germany, and France remain the main source markets, and Poland stands out as a new driver of winter tourism in the Canary Islands. Japan also features as a long-haul market, along with the US and China, which are emerging as new relevant players.
Since 2021, foreign tourism has grown by 224%, compared to 36% for resident tourism, creating a two-speed market. In 2025, international tourism spending reached 112 billion euros, far exceeding domestic spending (70 billion), and hotel prices have risen by 44%, well above inflation.
The rising cost of transportation and accommodation is driving the arrival of **day-trippers**, especially through cruises in coastal cities, while the weight of tourist housing increases, already accounting for 10% of accommodationCCOO Servicios calls for **strengthening social dialogue** in the autonomous communities, **dignifying salaries, reducing temporary and part-time employment,** regulating permanent-discontinuous contracts and outsourcing, and promoting policies on occupational health, vocational training, and equalityLikewise, it proposes implementing **tourist taxes** in saturated areas and promoting a Hotel Industry Pact to move towards stable and quality employment