Hotel receptionists, cleaners, cooks, passenger carriers or travel agents. These are some The most popular tradesmen in the Canary Islands are those linked to the tourism industry. Actually, Three out of ten Canarian workers are committed to providing some form of service to those who see the Islands as an ideal place to disconnect during their holidays..
In the last quarter, 271 thousand 204 people were employed in tourism in the Islands, which made up 27.1% of the total active population of the Islands in the same period. Only three communities registered more tourism workers than the Canary Islands from April to June.: Catalonia (487,314), Madrid (440,033) and Valencian Community (279,779).
In addition, the Archipelago was one of five communities where 74.5% of those employed in the sector were concentrated, along with Catalonia, Madrid, the Commonwealth of Valencia and the Balearic Islands.
At the national level, tourism employment in the second quarter of 2023 reached 2,864,776 employees, up 5.4% from the same period of 2022 and 6.3% from 2019, according to data published by Turespaña.
Héctor Gómez, Acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, said at a press conference in Tenerife yesterday that these figures show that the Government’s policies, improvement plans and dialogue with social partners and other administrations are “caused”.
So much so – according to the minister – Spain is “correcting” historical asymmetries regarding tourism employment and the sector is now “capable of creating wealth across the region, empowering us as a key economic sector for GDP performance and and as a country as a whole.
Employment growth was “homogeneous” and was recorded in all autonomous communities except the Community of Valencia, Castilla y León, Aragón and Cantabria. The regions with the highest increase in the number of people employed were La Rioja with 40.1%, Galicia with 18.3% and the Balearic Islands with 18.1% compared to the previous year.
For the minister, these “good data” are a reflection of the tourism sector being “one of our country’s main economic engines”. And this last quarter tourism registered 146,678 more employees than in the same period of the previous year, which represents one in four jobs (589,000) created in Spain at that time. In other words, 24.9% of new jobs are the result of tourism-related activities.
For this reasontourism workers in the country exceeded three million (3,130,026)increased by 6% compared to the same period last year.
The unemployment rate, on the other hand, remained at 8.5%, half a point above 2022 due to the increase in the number of active workers, but three points less than in 2019 (11.1%) and the country’s economy, which was 11.6%.
In terms of job creation, Gómez affirmed that work connected with tourist activities is increasing “more and more firmly and always under the motto of quality, stability and excellence”.
Amid the uncertainty created by inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gómez believes the “resilience” and “awesome performance” of tourism workers should be valued. “Spain is not only a force in attracting tourists, but also a force when it comes to creating wealth and stability for its citizens who are committed to this sector,” he said.
6% more travel agents
The salaried employees employed by others in the tourism sector increased by 8.1% to reach 2,381,684 persons. Workers increased in all tourism activities: passenger transport (17.3%), accommodation (8.7%) and “other tourism activities” (3.5%). Within the scope of “Other touristic activities”, There was a 6.2 percent increase in wage earners in travel agencies..
In addition, An 18.1 percent increase in wage earners with indefinite contracts in the tourism sector draws attention.It was the eighth consecutive increase. on his behalftemporary contract wage earners decreased by 19.9%. And self-employed fell 6% Compared to the same period of 2022, there are 482,388 self-employed employees.
Employers expect 90% occupancy and improve 2019 numbers
Jorge Marichal, President of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (Cehat), yesterday “Very positive” employment data in Spain and the Canary Islands case had an impactWhere “There is great interest from foreign tourists this year”.
Actually, on some Islands hotels are already near 90% occupancy peaks And – according to Marichal – these numbers are expected to improve during this time of August, “even exceeding the industry’s 2019 turnover before the pandemic.”
At the national level, the upward trend in domestic tourism favoring destinations such as Cantabria, where hotel reservations are 75% on weekends and holidays and 65% on weekdays, is confirmed.
Marichal points out that more than 80% of the Spanish coast stretching from Andalusia to Girona is occupied. While in the Balearic Islands, hotels are over 85% of their capacity.
The only downside for the head of Cehat to consider this summer is the general price increase that could reduce the benefits of the tourism sector: “We believe that we will be above 2019 in some areas, especially in terms of profitability and occupancy, but let’s not forget that some of this profitability will be absorbed by the effect of inflation.”.