The hospitality sector has endured one of the sharpest blows from the pandemic, and signs suggest a full resurgence may lag even after restrictions ease. Provincial institutions face a summer season shaped by a waiter shortage of at least 18,000 workers, making it difficult to recruit sufficient staff for the industry. As a result, many bars and restaurants may keep COVID-era capacity limits and reduce shifts, which would curtail offerings for guests. Business groups warn that this could threaten the revival of tourism, while unions argue that improved working conditions could resolve the bottleneck.
All indicators point to a summer expected to attract visitors at roughly pre-pandemic levels to the Alicante region. Yet the hotel sector will not be able to match past activity because it cannot secure enough personnel. If last year serves as a benchmark, this season is likely to unfold with similar visitor numbers, even as labor market difficulties persist. A 75 percent reduction in hiring for the season, relative to 2019, highlights the scale of the challenge. In Benidorm, the flagship destination, around 6,000 waiter positions are needed, with the remaining Provinces accounting for the rest of the gap.
Mar Valera, president of the Provincial Association of Catering Entrepreneurs in Alicante (Apeha), notes that the same hurdles seen last year recur. He stresses the need to operate with the same arrangements used during the pandemic and to avoid exhausting the staff by rotating shifts too aggressively. For industry representatives, the issue goes beyond hotels—it spans the entire sector, as many report similar strains. There is concern that skilled tradespeople are disappearing, and families often prioritize university pathways for their children, leaving fewer options for vocational routes. Valera adds that a shortage of vocationally trained workers is already evident, making it hard to feel confident about the available workforce and its training paths.
Nuria Montes, general secretary of Hosbec, the hotels association, points out that the shortage affects not only bars and restaurants but also hotels themselves. She explains that of the roughly 7,000 employees, about 2,000 hold temporary contracts during peak season. The core issue is not merely wages; even with favorable terms, filling vacancies remains difficult. Montes warns that the staff shortfall has caused tangible negative outcomes, hindering the pace of tourism recovery.
Workforce shortages prevent hospitality industry from recovering pre-pandemic employment levels
What do unions say about the path forward? They advocate improving working conditions as the primary remedy. Paco García, general secretary of CC OO in the l’Alacantí-Les Marines area, emphasizes enforcing collective agreements to regulate actual working hours. He also notes that temporary contracts lead to discontinuous work patterns. Yaissel Sánchez, the UGT representative, highlights the scale of unemployment in hospitality—thousands are registered, yet many do not enter the workforce due to condition gaps, arguing that better conditions could unlock participation.
From transfers to other sectors to migrant movements
The pandemic restrictions masked a significant loss of hospitality workers. Nuria Montes of Hosbec discusses factors such as workers moving to other sectors or returning migrants to origin countries. Employment Regulation Files (ERTE) helped retain permanent staff, but those who faced disruptions often pivoted to logistics and construction to survive. Many migrant workers in the hotel sector also indicated a preference to return home during the health crisis, underscoring the difficulty of a rapid workforce rebound. Montes adds that some workers are satisfied with benefits and do not convert them into sustained employment, while another reality is the existence of three million unemployed who still cannot find jobs, underscoring the mismatch between available roles and workforce readiness.