Spanish tourism is currently losing more than €5.9 billion a year due to employee absenteeism, according to multiple 2026 industry reports from Exceltur.

This makes absenteeism one of the largest structural costs facing the sector, equivalent to 2.6% of total industry turnover.

€5.959 billion annual cost to tourism companies.
7% of agreed working hours across the sector are lost to absenteeism.

Leisure businesses are hit hardest, losing the equivalent of 4% of turnover, while accommodation businesses lose around 3%.

Urban tourism companies face more pressure (3.3% hours lost) than coastal ones (2.9%).

Regional Impact
Absenteeism varies sharply across Spain:
Canary Islands: highest rate at 12.1% of working hours lost.
Extremadura: 9.7%
Castilla-La Mancha: 8.2%
Asturias, Cantabria, Valencia: lowest rates (~3%).

For regions heavily dependent on tourism—like Andalusia, where tourism contributes 12% of the regional economy, absenteeism has outsized economic consequences.

Spain’s tourism sector is booming, but absenteeism is quietly eroding profitability.
The €5.9 billion annual loss is now seen as a strategic threat to the industry’s long term competitiveness.