Secretary of State for Tourism

Secretary of State for Tourism
Secretario de Estado de Turismo
Coat of Arms used by the Government
Incumbent
Rosario Sánchez Grau
since 17 April 2024
Ministry of Industry and Tourism
Secretariat of State for Tourism
StyleThe Most Excellent (formal)
Mrs. Secretary of State (informal)
AbbreviationSETUR
NominatorThe Industry Minister
Appointer
PrecursorUnder Secretary of Tourism
FormationJuly 4, 1977
First holderIgnacio Aguirre Borrell
Websiteturismo.gob.es

The secretary of state for tourism is a senior minister of the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism responsible for the government policy on tourism, one of the most developed economic sectors in Spain, representing approximately 12.6% of GDP and 12.3% of total employment in 2024.

The secretary of state also assists the minister in coordinating the tourism policies of the different Spanish administrations—through the Interministerial Committee on Tourism within the General State Administration and through the Sectoral Conference on Tourism for the regions—and with the international relations on this matter, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, and through the Tourism Institute of Spain (TURESPAÑA), whose presidency corresponds to the secretary of state, the government exercises the function of external promotion of tourism. The secretary of state also manages the State Financial Fund for Tourism Competitiveness (FOCIT), a fund destined to support the renovation, modernization or transformation plans of developed tourist destinations.

History

The position of Secretary of State for Tourism was created in summer 1977 after a massive State Administration reform. According to the law that created it, the Secretariat of State assumed the competences of the suppressed Undersecretariat of Tourism and all the bodies that integrated it were transferred to the new Secretariat of State. The Undersecretariat of Tourism was created in 1952 and was integrated in the Ministry of Information and Tourism, that was also suppressed in 1977 and replaced by the Ministry of Trade and Tourism.

In 1982, the Secretariat of State is suppressed after a government reform that created a new Ministry called Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Communications and its competences were transferred to a newly body named General Secretariat for Tourism. This General Secretariat survived until 2011 but since 1996 to 2000 was subordinated to the Secretariat of State for Trade, Tourism and SMEs with the First Aznar Government, to the Secretary of State for Trade and Tourism from 2000 to 2004 with the Second Aznar Government, to the Secretary of State for Tourism and Trade from 2004 to 2008 with the First Zapatero Government and from 2008 to 2011 to the Secretary of State for Tourism, after being suppressed by the pro-austerity Government of Mariano Rajoy.

Since 2011 the Secretariat of State has been autonomous and mainly focused in managing the Spanish tourism sector which has become one of the most developed and most important sectors in the economy, representing almost a 12% of GDP and a 13% of the employment by 2018 with more than 82 million tourist each year.

Names

Structure

The Secretariat of State is composed of the following departments:

The secretary of state chairs the Tourism Institute of Spain (TURESPAÑA) and oversees the activity of the State Financial Fund for Tourism Competitiveness (Spanish: Fondo Financiero del Estado para la Competitividad Turística, FOCIT) and of the public enterprises Paradores and State Commercial Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR).

List of secretaries of state

No. Image Name Term of Office Prime Minister
Began Ended Days of Service
1º Ignacio Aguirre Borrell 12 July 1977 28 February 1981 1327 Adolfo Suárez
2º Eloy Ybáñez Bueno 9 March 1981 8 December 1982 639 Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo
3º José Manuel Fernández Norniella 8 May 1996 20 June 1998 773 José María Aznar
4º Elena Pisonero Ruiz 20 June 1996 6 May 2000 1416
5º Juan Costa Climent 6 May 2000 6 September 2003 1218
6º Francisco Utrera Mora 6 September 2003 20 April 2004 227
7º Pedro Mejía Gómez 24 April 2004 22 April 2008 1459 José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
8º Joan Mesquida Ferrando 22 April 2008 27 July 2010 2285
9º Isabel María Borrego 31 December 2011 12 November 2016 1778 Mariano Rajoy
10º Matilde Asian González 22 November 2016 19 June 2018 574
11º Isabel Maria Oliver Sagreras 19 June 2018 15 July 2020 757 Pedro Sánchez
12º Fernando Valdés Verelst 15 July 2020 21 December 2022 889
13º Rosa Ana Morillo Rodríguez 21 December 2022 17 April 2024 483
14º Rosario Sánchez Grau 17 April 2024 Incumbent 919

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública (24 April 2024), Real Decreto 409/2024, de 23 de abril, por el que se desarrolla la estructura orgánica básica del Ministerio de Industria y Turismo (in Spanish), pp. 45750–45772, retrieved 25 March 2026
  2. ↑ Sempere, Pablo (22 December 2025). "El turismo deja definitivamente atrás la pandemia y vuelve a aportar el 12,6% del PIB a España". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "Royal Decree 1558/1977, of July 4, by which certain organs of the Central State Administration are restructured". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  4. ↑ "DECREE of February 15, 1952, organic of the Ministry of Information and Tourism" (PDF). 25 February 1952. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Sánchez reivindica el turismo como "salvavidas" de la economía y el empleo en España". El Independiente (in European Spanish). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "Spain tourist arrivals mark record for 6th straight year in 2018:..." Reuters. 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Eloy Ibáñez Bueno,". El País (in Spanish). 2 April 1981. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "JOSÉ MANUEL FERNÁNDEZ NORNIELLA". El País (in Spanish). 8 May 1996. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  9. ↑ Hosteltur. "La mallorquina Isabel Oliver es la nueva Secretaria de Estado de Turismo | Economía". Hosteltur: Toda la información de turismo (in European Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  10. ↑ HD, Redacción (15 July 2020). "Fernando Valdés, nuevo secretario de Estado de Turismo". Hosteleria Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 August 2020.