Further evidence that the Balearic tourist industry is struggling has come to light. The number of people employed in tourism in the Balearics stood at 181,769 in the second quarter of the year, representing a decrease of 10.7% compared to the same period last year. According to data published on Friday by Turespaña, of the total number of people employed in tourism in the second quarter in the islands, 154,902 are contracted employees, 16.2% less than in the same quarter of 2024, and 26,867 are self-employed, representing a year-on-year increase of 44.6%.
The Balearics is the autonomous community with the largest decline in the second quarter of this year, with 10.7%, ahead of Murcia (-8.5%), Castilla-La Mancha (-6.6%), Extremadura (-6%), Aragon (-5.2%) and Galicia (-4.6%). On the other hand, the number of people in employment increased in 11 autonomous communities. Among the main communities, the number of people in employment grew in Madrid by 8.3%, in Andalusia by 6.5%, in Catalonia by 2.4% and in the Canary Islands by 1.4%, while it fell in Valencia by 1.3% and in the Balearic Islands by 10.7%.
Tourism employment in Spain exceeded 3 million employed for the first time outside what is traditionally considered the high season. In the second quarter of 2025, the sector registered 3,024,347 employed workers, representing an increase of 2% compared to the same period in 2024.
In the second quarter of the year, the main tourist activities experienced growth, except for the hotel and restaurant sector. In this subsector, employment fell by 1.3% due to the negative performance of food and beverage services (-0.5%) and accommodation services (-3.5%). In travel agencies, however, the variation was positive, at 8.7%, as was the case in passenger transport (up 4.6%).
Hence why Juanmi Ferrer, president of the CAEB Restaurants Association in Mallorca, is warning that "hundreds of restaurants will close this year; the summer hasn't been good.The situation is very difficult. We are very worried about businesses' bottom lines. Many won't be able to survive. We haven't had such a bad summer since before the pandemic."