One fourth of Spain's tourism workers lost jobs due to the recession

The economic sector representing the engine for Spanish economy, tourism industry, has lost throttle. Records in the last five years are desperate. Up to 600,000 jobs have been wiped out from the industry since recession ensued when the credit crunch struck, according to data gathered by the Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA), distributed by the Instituto de Estudios Turísticos.

In the first quarter of 2008, when the Spanish economy was still growing and unemployment rates in the country were steady at the 10pc mark, tourism industry employed in Spain 2,533,080 people, 611,441 more workers than those listed from January to April this year, when occupancy figures reached 1,921,639 employees.

Jorge Carrillo, CC.OO union representative for aviation industry, said to EFE news agency that 'a fourth of all employees across the country's tourism industry have been wiped out. That is horrific'.