Trade Unions claim that 95% of hospitality workers earn below the average wage
A new report from trade union CCOO paints a stark contrast between Spain’s booming tourism economy and the reality faced by the workers who sustain it. While the sector closed 2025 with record-breaking figures of 97 million foreign tourists and €135 billion in spending, the vast majority of employees have not shared in the prosperity, including here in the Canary Islands.
Tourism now represents 12.6% of Spain’s GDP, a 28% jump compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Yet 95% of tourism and hospitality workers earn below the national average wage, and large numbers do not even reach a living wage once rising housing and transport costs are factored in.
In the Canary Islands, where tourism underpins 16.8% of all employment, the effects are particularly severe.
A booming sector built on unstable jobs
According to the report, 300,000 jobs were created during the 2025 high season, but only 40,000 were still in place by year’s end. November alone saw the loss of 100,000 positions. CCOO argues this shows the sector’s “clear capacity to generate stable employment” but an equally clear lack of willingness to do so.
Temporary contracts, job volatility and very low pay remain structural features of an industry made up of more than 600,000 companies and almost three million workers.
For many employees, work in tourism remains what the report describes as “a low-quality job opportunity characterised by exhausting shifts, low pay, and virtually no prospects for stability or career development.”
Why the Canary Islands feel the impact more than most
The Canary Islands rely on tourism more heavily than almost any other region in Spain. This dependence means that low wages and precarious employment have direct consequences for residents: rising living costs, housing pressure, and greater competition for stable jobs.
International tourism is also growing far faster than domestic tourism, by 224% since 2021, compared with 36% growth among Spanish residents, which leaves island economies even more exposed to external labour and market pressures.
Meanwhile, hotel prices have risen by 44% since 2019, far outpacing inflation. Workers earning below the national average are increasingly unable to afford housing in the very destinations where they work, a problem already acute in archipelagos such as the Canaries and the Balearics.
A model under strain
The union highlights that the current tourism model places growing pressure on land, services and housing, especially in saturated destinations including the Canary Islands. Hotel investment rose 28% in 2025, with heavy concentration in the Canaries, Barcelona, the Balearics and Madrid. At the same time, the market is shifting towards luxury tourism, and the number of 1, 2, and 3-star hotels is shrinking, while 52 new five-star hotels are scheduled to open in 2026.
The result, CCOO warns, is a widening gap: booming revenues for companies and investors, but wages that fail to keep pace with a rising cost of living.
What the union is demanding
To address the imbalance, CCOO Services is calling for:
- Higher wages and measures to ensure workers earn enough to live in tourist areas.
- Reduced reliance on temporary and part-time contracts.
- Regulation of fixed-term intermittent contracts and outsourcing.
- Stronger occupational health and equality policies.
- Greater social dialogue in regional governments.
- Tourist taxes in saturated areas.
- A Hotel Industry Pact that would commit the sector to stable, high-quality employment.
As the Canary Islands prepare for another record year, the report poses an urgent question: what good is a booming tourism economy if the people who make it possible can no longer afford to live in the communities they serve?
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