The evolution of tourism in Spain.

The case study of Benidorm (Alicante)

Ana Espinosa Seguí

Ana.Espinos@ua.es
Human Geography Department
 The evolution of tourism in Spain.
The case study of Benidorm (Alicante)

OBJECTIVES OF THIS PRESENTATION:

- Analyse the evolution of tourism activities in Benidorm

- Use this coastal town of Spain as an example of the

Spanish sun and sand tourism evolution

- Travel around the history of this representative town for

the regional economy

- Analyse the past, present and future of Benidorm as the

capital of tourism in Costa Blanca
Benidorm
- is one of the most traditional sun and sand tourist
destinations of the Mediterranean coast of Spain

- is a good example for studying the tourism

phenomenon in Spain

- is a town with almost 80,000 inhabitants but 1,748,564

visitors and 10,495,788 overnight stays per year (data
from 2012)

- is the place with the highest density of skyscrapers per

inhabitant worldwide, and the second one after New York
due to its number per square meter

- has the highest hotel in Europe (Hotel Bali ****)

Photo: Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
 Climate diagram of Benidorm
(liters/m2) tª
120 30

100 25

80 20

60 15

40 10

20 5

0 0
Jan. Feb. March April May June July August Sept Oct Nov Dec

1. Benidorm
has a very
mild weather

Photo: Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm

2. There is a local entrepreneurial basis

Hotel structure in Benidorm in 2009

4% 4%
International companies

National companies

30%
50% Benidorm companies
(regional scale)
Local companies

Independent hotels
12%

Source: Own elaboration with dat from (Vera, Rodríguez and Capdepón, 2010)
3. Loyal, durable and stable business relationships
between Benidorm hotels and main countries of
emission: United Kingdom, Netherlands, Norway…

BBC serial “Benidorm”

4. Profuse and well designed complementary offer

Theme
parks
Photos: courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
 4. Profuse and well designed complementary offer

Powerful restaurant
industry
Units
600

500 570

400

300
Golf courses 200
303

Photo: courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm

100 157 133
0
Bars Restaurants Disco-pubs Cafeterias
Source: Benidorm en cifras, 2012.

Source: www.realbenidorm.net
4. Profuse and well designed complementary offer

Benidorm palace. Opened in 1977

Source: blog.ilovecostablanca.com

Source: www.rh-hotels.co.uk

Music, dance, theatre shows

4. Profuse and well designed complementary offer

Leisure offer
Units

30

20

10

0
Disco Gaming Bingos Cinemas Theme Circus Mini golf
rooms parks

Source: Benidorm en cifras, 2012.

Music, dance, theatre shows

5. Complementary destinations in the proximity

Source: www.guadalest.es/

Source: http://www.lasfuentesdelalgar.com Source: http://www.noticiasdot.com

 Population
Number of
inhabitants
80.000

70.000
60.000

50.000
40.000

30.000
20.000

10.000
0
1.595
1.768
1.794
1.831
1.860
1.887
1.908
1.920
1.936
1.950
1.960
1.970
1.981
1.984
1.991
1.995
1.997
1.999
2.001
2.003
2.005
2.007
2.009
Data courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
Photo: courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
Before the 1950s, 1939: End of Crisis of spa
Benidorm was a the Spanish tourism focused
fishermen village. Civil War on high classes

1950: National 1939-1975: After the Second

tourism started in Franco’s World War:
the village Dictatorship in economic recovery
Spain in the bulk of
1952: One of the Western European
biggest tuna 1953: countries that
fishery was closed Agreements provoked mass
down in the between Spain international
municipality. and USA tourism trips
1956: First General 1959: Agreement Rise of massive sun
Urban Development between the Spanish and sand tourism in
Plan in Benidorm: a Office for the USA the Mediterranean
tourism devoted town relationships and the coasts of France,
is planned along the US International Italy and Spain
main beaches Cooperation
Administration. 1964: Spain became
Until 1959: 4 hotels
were opened in the first tourist
In 3 years, USA
Benidorm destination
granted a loan of
more than 1.9 million
1959: International 1957: 30,000 tourists
EUR for the
Benidorm Song development of flew from UK to
Festival tourism in Spain. Valencia with British
European Airways
1959: The Mayor of Hilton hotels entered and chose Benidorm
Benidorm allowed the into the Spanish as the final
use of bikini in the market destination for their
beaches of the town. holidays
Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
Constructive
typology
proposed in
the First
General Urban
Development
Plan in
Benidorm

Courtesy of the Town

Council of Benidorm
Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
 Opening of new hotels in Benidorm (units)

2001-2009
1991-2000

1981-1990
1971-1980

1960-1970
1950-1959
Before 1950

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Source: Own elaboration with data from (Vera, Rodríguez and Capdepón, 2010)
Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
1962: Construction 1959: Stabilisation Tourists from
of the bull fighting Plan Western Europe
square of - More economic arrived to Spain
Benidorm. flexibility with their own
- More real cars
1963: Second exchange rate
mechanism Due to the higher
General Urban
Development Plan proximity,
National tourism Catalonia was
in Benidorm which
was very scarce
allowed higher the first region
due to the low
skyscrapers and a being
purchasing power of
low habitat density consolidated as
the Spanish
in the town population a tourism area
 1964: Spain European tourists
1970: the airport of overcame Italy and enjoyed a very
Alicante was became the good value for
opened. worldwide tourism money due to the
leader
low prices of the
1975: the motorway Spanish tourism
Spain was focused
between Alicante on attracting mass industry (lower
and Benidorm was tourism from than the neighbor
built up European countries countries)

1985: Opening of From the 1960s: Cheap houses

Aqualandia The Spanish image
and land helped
amusement park is based on
stereotypes and foreign investors
cultural and to buy houses in
religious traditions tourist areas
From 1980, offer 1975: starting of the International
during the democracy tourism
wintertime uses companies
half of the “sun and 1986: Entrance in the cornered the
sand product” EU
Spanish domestic
(pensioners from market
Spain and the rest In the last decades,
of Europe) looking tourism has been
Tour operators
for SUN and mild planned by regional
governments, being controlled a large
weather
committed to raise the part of hotel offer
quality of the offer and services
Around 20% of the
(more diversified, (shows, theme
hotels close during
environmental friendly parks…)
the wintertime
and sustainable)
 „The sun passes the
winter in Benidorm
and the breeze, the
summertime”

Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm

Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
Registred inhabitants during the period 1997-2011

Total

Spanish
people

Foreign
people

Source:
Benidorm
en cifras
2012
Evolution of tourists during the period 1997-2011

Total

National
tourists
Foreign
tourists

Source:
Benidorm
en cifras
2012
- 2000: Opening of Terra Mítica amusement park

- 2000: Opening of Aqua Natura and Terra Natura amusement

park

- From 2005, Benidorm covers the niche market of luxurious

hotels with 1024 hotel rooms in 5 stars hotels

- Part of the hotel room offer has been upgraded or renovated.

- British tourists are the first market, followed by Dutch tourists. In

the last years, Russian and Polish tourism has significantly
grown.

- Many ex-tourists from Western Europe became residents in the

surroundings of Benidorm
Source: https://maps.google.es
In the last decade, internet opened new possibilities
for direct sale of tourist products:
- not so dependent on tour operators
- Many British tourists book now directly on internet

NEW TRENDS IN BENIDORM:

- Reconvert the excess of room offer to apartments or
offices
- Gain accesibility and safety in old buildings and built
more sustainable buildings
 Source:
Benidorm
Hotel beds category during the period 1997-2011 en cifras
2012

3***

4****

2**

5*****
1*
 Solid waste collection (2012)
(tonnes)

7.000

6.000

5.000

4.000

3.000

2.000
Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Water consumption (2012)

Litres

1.400.000
1.200.000
1.000.000
800.000
600.000
400.000 Source:
Benidorm
200.000 en cifras
0 2012
Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
 Monthly rate of hotel occupancy in Benidorm

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

0 20 40 60 80 100 %
Source: Benidorm en cifras, 2012
 Annual rate of hotel occupancy
%
90

80

70

60

50

40
Madrid Barcelona San Benidorm Adeje Calvià Palm a de Pájara Salou Arona
Bartolom é Mallorca
de Tirajana
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Source: www.ine.es
 Accomodation offer (2012)

Campings
15%

Apartments Hotels
29% 55%

Cheap hotels and

guest houses
1%

Source: Benidorm en cifras, 2012.

 Days of stay of
tourists
8

4
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Costa Blanca Benidorm

Source: www.ine.es
Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm
- Excessive dependence on the British market

- Benidorm is increasing direct sales through internet in order

to decrease foreign tour operators dependence.

- Benidorm has mantained a high density habitat

-It is surrounded by
municipalities that
have used the capital
of Costa Blanca as an
anchor for urban
sprawl.

Courtesy of the Town Council of Benidorm

- History Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scxqyBx8lxI

- Benidorm en cifras (2012).

- Pellejero Martínez, C. (2002): La política turística en la España del

siglo XX: una visión general, Historia contemporánea, nº 25, 233-
265 pp.

-Sánchez Sánchez, E. (2001): El auge del turismo europeo en la

España de los años sesenta, Arbor CLXX, 669, 201-224 pp.

- Vera Rebollo, JF; Capdepón, M. (2010): Reestructuración y

competitividad en destinos maduros de sol y playa: la renovación de
la planta hotelera de Benidorm. Available online:
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/handle/10045/14180
 The evolution of tourism in Spain.
The case study of Benidorm (Alicante)

Ana Espinosa Seguí

Ana.Espinos@ua.es
Human Geography Department