Tourism during the Civil War and the early Franco regime, 1936-1959

Tourism during the Civil War and the first Franco regime, 1936-1959. State and private companies in Spain's tourism recovery. A comparative perspective.

Program 

Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, State Program for the Promotion of Scientific and Technical Research of Excellence; Reference HAR2017-82679-C2-1-P

Budget

€42,350

Implementation period

01/01/2018-31/12/2021

Number of researchers 

10

Principal Investigator: Dr. Carlos Larrinaga Rodríguez (University of Granada).

ICRPC participants: Dr. Saida Palou as researcher in the work team.

Description

The main objective of this project is to analyze Spanish tourism during the period between the Civil War (1936) and the Stabilization Plan of 1959. These were just over 20 years that we consider particularly significant for the consolidation of Spain as a mass tourist destination. This was the case for several reasons. First, the emergence of a new tourism paradigm based on sun and sand. Second, the strong economic growth of Western European economies following the Marshall Plan. And third, the improvement in communication media. Higher income levels and the introduction of paid vacations contributed to an increase in the number of people who began to enjoy tourism, so we aim to investigate the process of "democratization" of tourism during these two decades. Considering the social composition of tourism, it will also encompass tourism by Spaniards within Spain and abroad. Our previous project already provided an initial estimate of Spanish tourism as a percentage of total tourism in Spain (around 75-80%), and we want to delve deeper into this mix, examining the effects of the Civil War and the postwar period.