Press Release - February 2026

• Against a backdrop of favourable trends in private consumption and demand for tourism and social and healthcare services, the main sectors that make up the hospitality and institutional catering market continued to perform well in 2024-2025. However, provisional data generally point to the trend of continued slowing in growth being maintained.

• Turnover in four of the five sectors analysed—hotels, hospitals, homes for the aged and catering—rose by between 5% and 7% in 2025. Only the restaurants sector posted a slightly smaller increase this year, at around 3.5%.

• INFORMA's DBK Sectoral Observatory recently published these insights in the 'The Horeca Market' Special Report.

Madrid, 10 February 2026.- According to INFORMA's (Cesce's subsidiary) DBK Sectoral Observatory—a leading provider of business, financial, sectoral, and marketing information in Spain and Portugal—the main sectors linked to hospitality and institutional catering—restaurants, hotels, hospitals, homes for the aged and catering—maintained positive momentum in 2024-2025, albeit with more moderate growth rates than in previous fiscal years. 

Turnover in the hotel sector rose 12% in 2024 and ended 2025 with an estimated increase of 6%, exceeding €22 billion. Higher foreign demand and rising prices consolidated its position as one of the main drivers across the activities as a whole.

The restaurants market, also slowing versus previous years, grew 4% in 2024 and was estimated to have advanced 3.5% in 2025, to around €30.8 billion. Outlets without table service—fast food restaurants and self-service—posted the best performance, confirming the rise of agile, quick-dining-oriented options.

Catering turnover remained very strong, up 9% in 2024 and around 7% in 2025, exceeding €4.9 billion. The institutional catering segment accounted for nearly 80% of the market, while airline catering was the most dynamic subsegment, driven by the recovery in tourist traffic.

In healthcare, private hospital management recorded steady growth of between 5% and 6% in both 2024 and 2025, generating turnover of close to €14.65 billion in the latter year. Insurance-company-related business remained the main segment, now accounting for about 60% of the total. The homes for the aged sector, meanwhile, maintained its upward trend, with annual growth of 6-7% in 2024-2025, reaching €6 billion. The management of privately run publicly funded beds continued to gain ground, already contributing over 35% of turnover, against a backdrop of population ageing and improving supply. 

The hospitality and institutional catering business continued to be highly fragmented, dominated by small companies running a single outlet. However, the concentration trend that began before the pandemic persisted across all the sectors analysed. It was particularly pronounced in catering and hospitals, where the top ten operators held over half of the market.