A New Age Of Discovery

Why have so many northern Europeans discovered modern Spain? First there was the cheap package holidays of the 1960s, a tourist attraction different from rivals Italy and France. Then visitors slowly discovered that the country’s old image as a backward, under-developed, economically poor country dominated by the Catholic Church was no longer true. Before any one realised it, by the 1990s Spain had taken on the mantle of a prosperous modern European nation with many benefits and advantages not available back home. It had sun! Not only sun, but a relaxed lifestyle and a cheaper cost of living too.

Holidays From Northern Europe

Most Europeans obtain direct experience of foreign countries from tourism. Since the 1960s, there has been remarkable growth in foreign holidays. This has been fuelled by reductions in real prices and the increased understanding of foreign holidays as ‘positional goods’. The two dominant nationalities of European holidaymakers are British and German. In 1965 the number of British people going abroad was five million: the number increased by 140% in 1980 and doubled again by 1995. Equally impressive are the statistics for the proportion of the UK population taking a holiday abroad –13% in 1971 and 35% in 1995. Well over half the British population has taken a foreign vacation at some time. Those who holiday abroad tend to be younger, more prosperous and of higher socio-economic status than those who holiday in Britain. The growth in international tourism from Germany has been even more rapid. Whereas only 5.8 million went abroad in 1962, this rose to 18.3 million in 1985 and to 40.7 million in 1995 (partly boosted by reunification).

There are four major types of tourists seeking a different experience from their travels:

• The organised mass tourist who takes an inclusive holiday which offers protection within an environmental bubble. Familiarity dominates novelty.
• The individual mass tourist who is more autonomous and follows a flexible itinerary. Familiarity dominates, but some novelty is sought.
• The explorer investigates new areas and tries to get off the beaten track. Novelty is sought, but if it becomes stressful this tourist will retreat into the familiarity of the environmental bubble.
• The back to nature drifter, who avoids any kind of commercial tourism establishment, seeks contact with native culture and tries to live the same way as locals.

One other relevant feature has been the growth of winter sun holidays. Some 12 million British holiday visits are made between October and March each year to various overseas locations. In general overseas winter holidays have been expanding at about twice the rate of summer sun holidays. Older people constitute an important element of this market, with 23% being aged 55 and over. There have also been other changes in the Mediterranean tourism market, notably an increase in self-catering. The experience of renting a villa or apartment may lead to the purchase of a holiday home to be used later for retirement.

The traditional Spanish package holiday, still enjoyed by many, consists of sand, sea and sun. Holiday reps efficiently escort people from the airport to a three or four-star hotel with half board accommodation, offer trips and sort out any problems. Tourists stay in their self-imposed environmental bubble. This type of holiday will always be the core of Spain’s tourist industry, but it has now peaked. It has spawned a massive expenditure to keep its visitors happy and to encourage them to visit again and again.

The Spanish holiday market is now segmented. Firstly into different types of accommodation such as hotels, timeshares, rented properties and holiday homes. Secondly into the traditional family holiday. Thirdly for special interest groups looking for culture, rural, walking, sporting or adventure holidays. Fourthly to encourage tourists away from the Costas to rural inland areas. To do this the Spanish Tourist Board have developed a number of concepts:

• Traditional sun, sea and sand.
• Espana Verde (Green Spain) covering the northern regions of the country embracing Asturias, Galicia, Cantabria and Pais Vasco.
• The Gold and Silver routes that are old Roman roads through the Spanish heartland.
• Eight Spanish cities recognised by UNESCO for their artistic and cultural legacy. They are Avila, Caceres, Cordoba, Cuenca, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia and Toledo. They are not major cultural cities such as Granada, but smaller, rural cities each with a wealth of history and culture, and a variety of customs.
• Short city breaks promoted to Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Palma, Granada, Salamanca, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Toledo and Valencia.