Spain to issue temporary visas to meet demand in tourism, hospitality industry

Spain is experiencing a significant labour shortage in the hospitality industry due to a record number of international tourists choosing the country as their preferred vacation destination.

Resource firm, Randstad estimates that Spain needs at least 60,000 additional workers to deal with the current situation. However, finding workers to meet demand has been one of the most difficult challenges for Spanish authorities.

In January alone, Spain welcomed 4.1 million international tourists, a 65.8 percent increase over the same period last year. Visitors from other countries spent €5,218 million on their trip and stay, €2,178 million (71.7%) more than in January of last year.

Furthermore, data shows that there was a 24% increase in overnight stays in February this year compared to the same period last year, resulting in a labor shortage, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

To manage the current situation, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Jose Luis Escriva, said that the country would ease work permit rules for foreigners in several industries, including tourism, as a response to labour shortages.

“We are evaluating different aspects of the migration law and where there is room to improve it … in order to address bottlenecks in Spain’s labor market,” he pointed out.

Last year, Escriva announced that the country would issue a greater number of temporary visas for sectors in need of workers to aid the country’s recovery from the labour gap caused by the effects of the Coronavirus.

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