The Spanish tourism sector employed 98,415 more people in the third quarter of this year, up 3.7 percent compared with the same period in 2017, official data revealed on Tuesday.

According to the Inquest into the Active Population (EPA), in the third quarter of the year there were 2,759,330 people working in the tourism sector.

The number of workers especially grew in the hotel industry and other tourism activities, while decreasing in passenger transport services.

Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, said that this data confirmed "the strength of tourism in Spain".

"In this quarter, the Spanish economy has created some 478,000 additional jobs compared to the same quarter of the previous year, of which 20.6 percent are related to tourism," the ministry said in a statement.

"Those working on the tourism sector have accounted for 14.1 percent of the total employment in the Spanish economy," it said.

The tourism sector in Spain is one of the main driving forces of the economy, representing around 11 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

In April 2017, Spain ranked first in the Tourism Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum, which highlighted the "unique offer of cultural and natural resources", infrastructures, public policies to support the sector and air connectivity that Spain offers.

In 2017, Spain received 81.8 million international tourists, up 8.6 percent from 2016.