The Canary Islands have the highest rate of absenteeism among tourism workers in Spain, according to a new report by tourism employers’ association Exceltur.
The study found that 12.1% of working hours in the islands’ tourism sector are lost due to employee absences, placing the Canary Islands well ahead of Extremadura (9.7%) and Castilla-La Mancha (8.2%).
The findings come as workplace absenteeism across Spain reaches a record high. Separate research by Randstad Research estimates that 7.2% of agreed working hours nationwide are lost through absenteeism.
Across all industries, the Canary Islands rank third highest in Spain, with an overall absenteeism rate of 8.9%, behind only the Basque Country (9.4%) and Asturias (9.1%). At the other end of the scale, La Rioja, the Balearic Islands and Madrid are the only regions where overall absenteeism remains below 5%.
In the Canary Islands, 85.4% of absences are attributed to certified sick leave, while the remainder are linked to reasons such as strikes, authorised leave, paid time off and unexcused absences.
Exceltur’s tourism-specific report does not distinguish between absences supported by a medical certificate and those without one.
Among Spain’s best-performing tourism regions, the Valencian Community (3.8%), Cantabria (3.7%) and Asturias (3.6%) all recorded absenteeism rates below 5%. In comparison, the Balearic Islands reported a tourism-sector absenteeism rate of 5.9%.
According to Exceltur, employee absenteeism costs Spain’s tourism industry almost €6 billion each year, highlighting the growing economic impact on one of the country’s most important sectors.
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