La propaganda turística española en los años del aislamiento internacional

Abstract

After the defeat of Germany and Italy in World War II and the condemnation of the Franco Regime by the UN, the Spanish political model lost favour among democratic countries. From that moment on tourism in Spain became the only doorway to the world starting to attract attention: the tourist sector could at the same time get our economy back on its feet and give Spain back its image of a powerful country by gaining international political recognition whose absence threatened the survival of the Franco Regime. The State Tourist Office was then given the difficult task of adjusting the balance of international payments, and changing the reservations and even the hatred of certain countries, especially of the U.S.A, into friendship. During this stage the official visits of distinguished personalities in politics such as Eva Perón or King Abdullah of Jordan, as well as groups of journalists of several nationalities (North American, Mexican, Cuban, etc.) and people in charge of international tourist companies, made Spain fashionable and encouraged people to get to know the reality of a country everybody was talkingabout and about which contradictory accounts circulated.