Evolution of tourism in Andalusia

Few data have been found on tourists or travellers to Andalusia before the 18th century. In the second half of the 19th century the phenomenon of tourism began in Andalusia, but already from the end of the 18th century it was visited by a large number of travellers, attracted by the beauty of its landscapes, its historical and monumental heritage of cities such as Seville, Granada, Malaga, Cadiz or Cordoba. At that time there were limitations on transport and accommodation and the stays were extended over time, it was an activity reserved for people from a high social and economic class.

"The Grand Tour" or "Le Grand voyage" was an itinerary of travel around Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries that was undertaken by young British aristocrats with different motivations, although their main objective was to complete their education and social prestige. The most common itinerary included Paris, northern Italy (Florence, Rome, Naples), Switzerland and sometimes Germany.

For a few decades Spain, and specifically Andalusia, was left out of these circuits because they considered that there was nothing of interest. There came a time when the interests of travellers changed and they began to include Andalusia as a stage in their journey and an attraction began to be felt for its exotic characters, as it was considered a land dominated by Catholic mentality and customs.

With the industrial revolution and the development of transport in the transit region (train, car, etc) the increase in the standard of living in the region of departure and the development of services in the region of destination in the middle of the 19th century began a new stage in Andalusian tourism.

In 1928, the National Tourist Board was created, the first State intervention in the field of tourism.

The spas, thermal and medicinal baths had their peak in the third quarter of the 19th century, attracting national, regional and local clients, although later there was a slight decrease in the number of visitors. It was in the middle of the 19th century that the baths in the sea began, having greater repercussions at the beginning of the 20th century, with Malaga and Sanlúcar de Barrameda being pioneers, this second being converted into a summer resort for the Montpensier court since 1852. Other cities such as Cadiz, Almeria, Algeciras and Huelva are also renowned for their sea resorts.

Cadiz Tourist Poster 1920 In 1972-1975, a new "Tourism Development Plan" was created with a double objective: to attract foreign tourists with higher incomes and to continue increasing local demand.

To achieve these objectives, new regulations and marketing efforts were implemented.

A new law enacted in 1970 established the minimum quality level of infrastructure required for any tourist facility. In 1984 the new "Spanish Tourism Council" was established to encourage interaction between the public and private sectors and to obtain a more sustainable tourism offer.

The regional government launched an aggressive local advertising campaign, to extend the concept of Andalusia beyond "sun and beach" by promoting Andalusian cultural heritage following the worldwide recognition of the Alhambra and Generalife in Granada and the Cordoba Mosque as World Heritage Sites in 1984, the Cathedral, the Real Alcázar and the Archivo de Indias in Seville in 1987, Úbeda and Baeza in Jaén in 2003 and the promotion of Andalusian cultural heritage with special events (e.g. Easter) with limited success.

With the measures adopted by the Franco government to regulate the quality of tourism in Spain, sun and beach tourism is being promoted on the coasts of Andalusia.

To achieve those objectives, new regulations and marketing efforts were implemented in the following years. Firstly, a new law passed in 1970 established the minimum quality level of infrastructure required for any tourist facility. Secondly, a new "Spanish Tourism Council" was established in 1984 to promote interaction between the public and private sectors and, consequently, a more sustainable tourism offer. Thirdly, in terms of marketing, the regional government launched an aggressive local advertising campaign. Finally, it tried to strengthen the variety of the Andalusian tourist offer. The worldwide recognition as "World Heritage" of the "Alhambra and Generalife" , the "Mosque" (1984), the "Cathedral, Alcazar and Archive of the West Indies" (1987), Úbeda and Baeza (2003) and the promotion of Andalusia's cultural heritage with special events (e.g. Easter) endeavoured to extend the concept of Andalusia beyond "sun and beach" , with limited success.

Source: "Spain _(Andalucia)_ Tourism _ 2011"

In conclusion, it is true that we don't have such old data on the evolution of tourism in Andalusia as at a global level. Nevertheless, we can also say that it was the Industrial Revolution that marked this evolution, which continues to exist to this day.

Gradually, improvements were made and although it was basically sun and beach tourism, other types of tourism began to be promoted in the region, thanks in part to the worldwide recognition of its cultural heritage.

Andalusia can therefore boast of being a very complete and competitive destination as it has managed to offer a wide variety of types of tourism to suit all tastes. Moreover, it continues to evolve thanks, like global tourism, to the evolution of new technologies.

And, as we were talking about the evolution of tourism in Andalusia, thanks to the following graph we can get an idea of its evolution due to the great evolution of hotels, hotel apartments, hostels and pensions over 45 years.

Source: Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía. Junta de Andalucía

Finally, this is the evolution of the number of tourists in Andalusia (2015-2020):

Source: Instituto de Estadística y Cartografía. Junta de Andalucía