Hospitality Sector In Spain To Get Boost With 60,000 Temporary Visas To Be Issued
Spain News
Published: 31 March 2023 19:01 CET
Despite the surge of tourists choosing Spain, including the Canary and Balearic islands, as their top vacation spot since the pandemic, the country is facing a severe shortage of workers, particularly in the hospitality industry. Randstad, a human resources company, has stated that Spain urgently needs a minimum of 60,000 more workers to manage the current situation.
In January alone, Spain welcomed 4.1 million international tourists, a 65.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, who spent 5.2 billion euros on their vacation (including flights and accommodations). This is 2.1 billion or 71.7 percent more than in January 2022. Additionally, figures released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on March 23rd, showed a 24 percent increase in overnight stays in February compared to the same period last year, with 16.8 million overnight stays.
The latest INE statistics also reveal an increase in hotel prices, with an average of 99.80 euros per room, 13 percent more than in 2022, and 20 percent more than in 2019.
To address the current staff shortage, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Jose Luis Escriva, announced that the country would ease work permit rules for foreigners to respond to labour shortages noted in several industries, including the tourism and hospitality sectors. The country will grant a greater number of temporary visas to third-country nationals for sectors that need workers to help Spain recover faster from the damages caused by the spread of the Coronavirus and its variants.
After the UK left the EU, Spain lost thousands of seasonal workers in holiday resorts, as Brits could come over for the summer and work for up to six months without the need for a visa or to become a resident. Now, they can only come for 90 days at a time out of 180 days and cannot work without a visa, making the whole situation far more complicated and expensive. As a result, many Brits are not coming, leaving Spain with a massive problem.
The Department of Social Security has reported that there were 17,478 more workers in the system than in the first month of this year, highlighting the significant worker shortage in the country.
Sources
https://nairametrics.com/2023/03/31/spain-to-issue-temporary-visas-to-fill-60000-vacancies-in-hospitality-sector-find-hotels-recruiting-now/
https://www.canarianweekly.com/posts/The-Brexit-effect-Spain-needs-60-000-more-workers-in-the-hospitality-industry
