Work in the tertiary sector
65 % of the working population is employed in the tertiary sector in Spain. The main activities are:
• Trade with two types of trade: domestic trade and foreign trade. Domestic trade is the exchange of services or products within the same country. Foreign trade is the exchange of services or products between at least two different countries. Spain imports, that is, it buys from other foreign countries above all machines, chemical products and cars… Spain exports, that is, sells to foreign countries farming, industrial and energy products.
• Transport. There are three types of transport:
– Terrestrial transport: this can be on road with a lot of motorways and on railway with some old parts
– Air transport with 50 airports most of them international airports
– Sea transport, very important for our foreign trade. The main commercial harbours are in Bilbao, Algeciras, Valencia, Tarragona and Barcelona.
• Tourism. We have two types of tourism in Spain:
– National tourism: Spanish tourists travel within Spain.
– International tourism: Foreign tourists visiting Spain. They are mainly from Germany, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
The favourite destinations are the Mediterranean area, the archipelago, the north of Spain and some historic cities such as Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Sevilla, Granada, etc.

EXERCISES:

  1. Name the main activities that exist in the tertiary sector.
  2. How many types of trade are there?
  3. What is foreign trade?
  4. What does Spain buy from other countries?
  5. Make a question whose answer is the underlined part: Spain sells to forign countries farming, industrial and energy products.
  6. Name the types of transport that exist in Spain
  7. What is the difference between the national tourism and international tourism.
  8. Make a question for: The Mediterranean area, the archipielago, the north of Spain and some historic cities.