Tourism to create between 30,000 and 40,000 jobs in 2011

SPAIN (Agencies) Tourism is still the bigest buisness in Spain, according to the industry's lobby, Alianza para la Excelencia Turística (Exceltur). As usual, it generates jobs during the first few months of the year. And just as usual, those jobs, almost all temporary and badly paid, disappear at the end of August. However, the industry says in a recent report that it will generate up to 40,000 jobs this year. Given that a large proportion of tourism in Spain is concentrated along the coastline, especially that of the Costa del Sol, which is expected to benefit from turmoil in the Middle East and other destinations, as well as from the global economy that forces many to cut back on their holiday costs.>>>

In Andalucia, though far from the coast but offering very good deals, employment in the industry in Córdoba has so far risen by 6.3% compared to the same period last year. Behind that, come Sevilla (+2.6%) and Málaga (+0.7%). As for the remaining capital cities of the region, tourism employment has dropped: Granada  by -0.2%; Huelva, 1.4%; Cádiz and Almería, by 3,8%; and Jaén by 11%. (The latter is known as the Frying Pan of Spain and is not known for summer tourists, except those who don't know any better.)