Beach diplomacy: international networks and the promotion of Benidorm in Francoist Spain during the 1950s and 1960s
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Facilitating and promoting tourism in Spain during the post-war decades was an international endeavour. For Spanish and European businesspeople, tourism in Spain provided an economic win–win situation. Beyond that, those tourism promoters who were sympathetic with the Franco regime considered it an occasion to improve Spain’s international reputation. Using the promotion of Benidorm and the ‘Costa Blanca’ in the 1950s and 1960s as a case study, this article analyses the networks and negotiations among local politicians, international tour operators and airlines, as well as prominent tourists. This ‘beach diplomacy’ fostered tourism in Spain as a modern consumer product that was compatible with different economic and ideological interests, as well as transcended the political divisions between democracies and dictatorships in the geopolitical ‘West’.
Author: Patricia Hertel
Institution: Centre Marc Bloch
Language: English
Topic: Spanish History and Politics
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4409686428