While the tourism industry in southern Gran Canaria continues to roar, many of its key components continue to be fueled by outside workers. Lifeguards, waiters, cleaners, and leisure instructors: essential jobs rarely filled by local residents. Is it a lack of training, incentives, or a real connection to tourism?
Summer is once again bringing record numbers of tourists to Maspalomas, Meloneras, and Playa del Inglés, but it also reveals a long-standing paradox: many of the jobs that sustain southern Gran Canaria aren't held by Canarians. Despite the employment potential offered by the tourism industry, certain job opportunities remain disconnected from the local population, especially young people.
New seasonal jobs have also emerged in the southern tourism ecosystem, combining leisure, experience, and digital visibility. Four- and five-star hotels in Meloneras, Playa del Inglés, and San Agustín are seeking to create unique environments. This is where an increasingly common figure comes into play: the pool DJ, responsible for setting the rhythm for sunny afternoons filled with mojitos.
It's not just about knowing how to DJ; you have to read the scene, connect with the international audience, and adapt to the vibe of each moment. A job where every beat is worth gold... and a tip.
The employment of beach testers has also emerged, driven by tourism apps and digital media that pay to explore beaches and evaluate their accessibility, cleanliness, water quality, and environmental appeal.
In Gran Canaria, there are more than 80 beaches with some type of environmental certification, making this activity a useful tool for viral marketing. Another real-life and increasingly popular job is that of an ice cream taster: every summer, food brands and artisanal ice cream shops test new flavors, textures, and formulas with staff specifically hired for this purpose.
In Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés, several establishments have opted for professionals with a taste for taste and creativity to test products before their launch. Along with these emerging jobs, the classics that never fail to impress remain: bartenders specializing in tropical mixology, kayaking and paddleboarding instructors, and multilingual travel agents advising tourists on quick getaways or tailor-made experiences.
According to InfoJobs, employment in the restaurant and tourism sectors in the Canary Islands has grown by 11% compared to 2024. In San Bartolomé de Tirajana alone, it is estimated that more than 3.000 seasonal contracts have been activated, many of them with accommodation included.
According to data from the Canary Islands Employment Observatory (Obecan) and ISTAC, Gran Canaria recorded an unemployment rate of 17,6% in the second quarter of 2025, one of the highest in the country. In tourist municipalities such as San Bartolomé de Tirajana, the number of contracts registered in the hotel and restaurant industry exceeded 11.000 in June, but only 36% were filled by residents of the municipality itself or nearby towns. The remainder are filled by workers from other islands, the mainland, or foreigners.
More than 60% of the staff in basic hospitality and leisure occupations come from outside the archipelago. The most difficult roles to fill with local workers include chambermaids, lifeguards, tourist entertainers, cooks, kitchen assistants, receptionists with foreign languages, and water activity instructors. Many of these don't require higher education, but they do require language skills, flexibility, and immediate availability.
In areas like San Bartolomé de Tirajana, which has more than 55.000 tourist beds in hotels, apartments, and resorts, the paradox is evident: while job openings soar in the summer, youth unemployment among Canarians remains above 30%.
The disconnect between the education system and the real needs of the tourism market is one of the most cited causes. The low level of proficiency in languages such as English and German, essential in the internationalized hospitality industry in the south, is a direct deterrent for many local applicants. Added to this is the lack of social prestige of certain essential jobs in the sector, which continue to be viewed as temporary jobs or "passing jobs" reserved for foreign workers.
Working conditions also weigh heavily, and in many cases remain unattractive to residents: temporary contracts, split shifts, schedules that are incompatible with work-life balance, and, above all, the lack of affordable housing in tourist areas.
Many young people from nearby towns like Santa Lucía, Ingenio, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria rule out working in the south because they cannot afford daily transportation or rent in areas close to hotel complexes. The latest rental price study by the Canary Islands Government confirms that southern Gran Canaria has the highest prices in the archipelago, with an average of over 15 euros per square meter, well above the base salary offered for many jobs.
The result is a structural dependence on foreign labor to maintain the tourism model. Despite promotional and training campaigns, the number of Canarians occupying entry-level positions in the sector remains low. And this is despite the fact that we're talking about profiles that don't require a university degree, but rather commitment, language skills, and availability.
Tourism already accounts for 35% of Gran Canaria's GDP and contributes nearly €5.000 billion annually to the island's economy. San Bartolomé de Tirajana alone accounts for 40% of hotel overnight stays in the entire Canary Islands. The sector is by far the largest generator of employment on the island: four out of every ten contracts signed in Gran Canaria so far in 2025 have been in direct tourism activities or those related to leisure and catering.
Solutions have been proposed at different levels, but their implementation remains uneven. Some proposals include strengthening language teaching from the secondary level with a practical focus on tourism employment, establishing agreements with hotels and companies to facilitate paid internships with a commitment to employment, or creating municipal mobility and housing plans for personnel who work in the south but reside abroad.
There is also debate about the need to offer tax incentives or bonuses to companies that prioritize hiring Canary Island residents, without resorting to discriminatory measures, but seeking to rebalance a clearly tilted balance.
Meanwhile, the "Wanted: Waiter/Waitress with Experience" signs continue to multiply in shop windows and on digital portals. Many of these jobs, essential to the functioning of the tourism model, remain unfilled by locals. The Canary Islands need their people to fully enter the heart of the tourism industry. They need them to stop watching from the sidelines and start leading from within. Because without Canarians, the south doesn't sound the same.
