Number of Paid Employees in Accommodation and Food Services Exceeds 1.5 Million

With the summer season in Turkey, the accelerating tourism and food and beverage activity has also reflected on employment. The number of paid employees in accommodation and food services reached 1 million 503 thousand 537 in June 2026. Thus, for the first time, the total of these two sectors exceeded the 1.5 million threshold.

In June 2025, there were 1 million 456 thousand 619 people working in the same scope. In one year, a net increase of approximately 47 thousand people occurred, with an annual growth rate of 3.2%.

This figure indicates an important scale for the HORECA sector. However, two distinctions need to be made when evaluating the data. First, this number does not cover all employees related to tourism in Turkey; it shows the paid employees in accommodation and food services. Second, the record level occurs in the summer season. Therefore, the main question is how much of this employment can be maintained throughout the year, as well as surpassing 1.5 million.

Annual Increase of 47 Thousand Employees

The difference between June 2025 and June 2026 is approximately 46 thousand 900 employees.

According to figures reported by Turizm Aktüel from TÜİK data, the sector reached the highest level of paid employees measured since 2009. During the same period, the total number of paid employees in Turkey also exceeded 16.3 million.

However, other data throughout the year show that growth is not evenly distributed across all HORECA areas.

In the May 2026 data, accommodation employment decreased by 2.1% year-on-year to 460 thousand 959, while the number of employees in food and beverage increased by 5% to 982 thousand 653. Airlines saw a 10.2% increase, while employment in travel agencies decreased by 2%.

This picture indicates that a significant portion of the growth in HORECA employment comes from food and beverage services.

Food and Beverage Sector Reaches 1 Million Threshold

One of the striking aspects of the June data is that the number of employees in food and beverage services has exceeded the 1 million level for the first time.

This development shows that the F&B sector has transformed into a significant employment area, not just a complementary operation of tourist hotels. Restaurants, cafes, fast food businesses, catering, and other food and beverage services create a wide demand for labor.

The increase in employment brings a new question for businesses: as the number of employees grows, is the qualified workforce developing at the same pace?

Hiring for operational positions such as waiters, chefs, baristas, commis, dishwashers, housekeeping, and front office is not just about filling the staff at the beginning of the season. Training duration, staff turnover rate, and the length of time employees stay in the business directly affect service quality and operational costs.

Record Employment Does Not Mean Personnel Issues Are Resolved

The increase in employment levels does not indicate that the sector's human resource problems have been resolved.

Looking at the 2025 average, the number of registered employees in tourism-related activities reached approximately 1.5 million. In the same year, the average daily earnings of tourism employees increased by 37.4% to 2,150 TL. However, there were significant wage differences among sub-sectors.

According to calculations made by Turizm Databank from SGK data, the average daily earnings in aviation were 5,048 TL, while in accommodation it was 1,554 TL, and in food and beverage services, it was 1,159 TL.

Therefore, the capacity of HORECA to create employment and the wage level of jobs, as well as the ability to retain employees in the sector, should be considered separate indicators.

Especially the fact that food and beverage services lead in the growth of employee numbers increases the importance of wages, shift structure, working hours, training, and career advancement.

Seasonal Effects Should Not Be Overlooked

Another characteristic of June is that it is one of the periods when the tourism season accelerates.

Turizm Aktüel notes that in 2026, the early start of seasonal activity due to the Kurban Bayramı in tourist areas contributed to the increase in employment.

The changes throughout the year clearly show the seasonal structure of the sector. In 2025, the number of paid employees in tourism-related activities was approximately 1.29 million in January, rising to 1.60 million in July, and then decreasing to 1.36 million in December.

This difference is not just a matter of hiring for businesses.

Finding new staff every season means repeating the onboarding and training processes. Experienced employees transitioning to other sectors at the end of the season may require the same business to recreate knowledge and experience for the next season.

Therefore, one of the more meaningful performance indicators for the sector could be 12-month average employment and employee retention as much as the maximum number of employees in the summer months.

Not the Same Indicator as "Tourism Employment"

A methodological point also needs to be separated in interpreting the data.

It is not accurate to evaluate all employees in accommodation and food services as those directly serving tourists. A significant portion of restaurants and cafes serve local customers.

For this reason, TÜİK's Tourism Satellite Account calculates "direct tourism-related employment" using a different methodology.

According to the latest published Tourism Satellite Account, direct tourism-related employment increased by 9.8% in 2024, reaching 1 million 194 thousand people, accounting for 3.7% of total employment.

Thus, the figure of 1.5 million in June 2026 does not contradict the figure of 1.194 million in the Tourism Satellite Account; they measure different scopes.

This distinction is important for StaffMag. When analyzing the HORECA labor market, sector employment based on economic activity classification should not be used interchangeably with tourism employment based on direct tourist spending.

The Main Issue for Businesses is Retaining Employees

The record number of employees shows that hotel and restaurant businesses managed a large pool of human resources in the summer of 2026.

This has significant operational implications.

As the number of employees grows, the scale of personnel operations such as shift planning, orientation, occupational health and safety, vocational training, accommodation, and transportation also increases. Especially in seasonal destinations, employee accommodation and transportation can directly affect the employer's capacity to find staff.

The time required for a newly hired employee to reach the service standard should not be overlooked. Businesses experiencing high staff turnover in the middle of the season may not be able to maintain service quality even if they keep the number of staff.

Therefore, the question "how many people are working?" needs to be accompanied by the question "how many people are staying in the business?".

Stafflink's View

Surpassing the 1.5 million threshold once again shows that HORECA is one of Turkey's largest labor-intensive sectors. However, evaluating the sector's human resource performance solely based on the number of employees is insufficient.

In our view, the critical indicators moving forward should be employee turnover rate, average length of employment, real wage trends, female and youth employment, vocational training, and the proportion of employees who can retain their jobs at the end of the season.

If a business opens in June with 100 employees and loses a large portion of its team by October, high seasonal employment alone does not create a strong human resources model.

The long-term goal of Turkish tourism should not only be to provide more seasonal jobs but to create professions that experienced employees will want to stay in the sector. Record employment only creates lasting value for businesses when supported by employee retention, training, and productivity.