Historia del Turismo en Benidorm(Benidorm)

From the previous century there is still the memory of the Mayora Hostel (1865). The town´s tourist attractions are well documented prior to this date in the book written by Christian August Fischer `Picture of Valencia' published in German in 1803 and based on the visit of the author to the Valencian Region in 1.798 . It details the art of the “Almadraba” (specialist type of fishing) and recommended the area as a pleasant place to stay for those travelers interested in tuna or sardine fishing.

Later, in 1852, the New Bather´s Guide in Spain written by Aureliano Maestre de San Juan, highlights Benidorm as one of the most attractive villages on the Alicante coast and in 1853, Benidorm appears referenced in a Treaty of Mineral Resources in Spain linked to the emerging health tourism at the Baths of Busot.

Improved communications allowed the timid start of a new economic facet: tourism. In the second half of the nineteenth century the Virgin of the Suffrage Spa opened in order to attend to the families from Alcoy, Madrid and other towns in the interior of Spain who came to Benidorm to take sea baths.

The construction of the road from Silla to Alicante and the arrival of the railway to Alicante from Madrid slowly helped the industry to thrive. First came the pioneer summer holiday-makers from Alcoy and Madrid, which from 1914 could make use of the of a narrow railway, the popular Marina Trenet, which initially joined Alicante to Altea and, therefore, to Benidorm.

During the decade of the 1950s steps were to produce a true transformation. On the one hand, in 1952, due to poor yield performance the Almadraba of the Raco de l'Oix is closed down, something traumatic for many families dependent on it, but on the other hand, in 1956 the town hall approved the new urban legislation in order to create a town designed for tourism based on well planned streets and wide avenues following the configuration of the beaches.

That culminated in becoming the 1956 General Plan, which for the time first set the route for Benidorm as it is known today. But it was far from being a town conceived on the basis of skyscrapers. It was more about being horizontal rather than vertical, with classic low rise buildings, with the apartments, villas and hotels which started being built in the late fifties and early sixties.

The driving force behind this plan at the time was the mayor Pedro Zaragoza i Orts considered as a visionary by many historians and tourism economists for the project he designed for a town that just had its beaches as a tourism resource. He allowed for the first time the use of the bikini in Spain during his 17 years in office and was responsible for a new form of promotion via the emblematic Song Festival.

The tourist image of Benidorm was presented to the world. The Festival contributed to the promotion of the town and the tourism brand "Benidorm" in all corners.

Julio Iglesias, the winner of 1968, was leading figure in 1969, 1973 and 1975. Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa, the Dynamic Duo, as well as closing the 1962 galas were also present in the 1981 editions and were nearly always present in various editions in search of the precious “Benidorm mermaid”, receiving it in 1977 with the theme "Alejate” (Go away).

The interest that arose from the beginning resulted in the film production in 1960 of the “Benidorm Festival" with Conchita Velasco, Carmen de Lirio and Manolo Gomez Bur. Benidorm has since been the scene of more than 300 films, of all types of themes. The first movie filmed in the town is "Alba de America" in 1951, Special mention for one of the most famous movies of the spanish cinema: "Golden Eggs" directed by Bigas Luna in 1.993 and starred by Maribel Verdú and Javier Bardem.

During the second half of the 60s, Benidorm underwent a major transformation with the onset of the British tour operators who began to bring groups to Manises airport (Valencia) a few years before the opening of Altet Alicante airport. It was the beginning of an attempt to break the seasonality of stays, taking advantage of prices and good weather, so that, thanks to hotels, created holiday environment all year round as opposed to the classical idea of a summer town, closed out of season, as in most beach holidays areas at the time.

The arrival of mass tourism had an immediate impact on the growth of Benidorm in the short term. When tour operators already working from Manises airport, started operating with charter aircraft, from March 1970, from the newly opened airport of El Altet, the high demand for hotel rooms led to the construction of hotels in quick succession (between 1971 and 1973). The source of tourism changed dramatically, and its social affiliation. The building boom in Benidorm peaked in those years. Part of the skyscrapers were just gigantic hotels (baptized as hotel factories) built in record time to meet demand.

In the nineties the hotels in Benidorm managed to reach a milestone breaking the seasonality influx of visitors. Today the town maintains excellent levels of hotel occupancy in both summer and winter, helped most recently with older generation in winter.

En el siglo XIX Benidorm veía nacer al Hostal la Mayora (1865) si bien las primeras referencias turísticas a Benidorm aparecen en el libro de Christian August Fischer 'Cuadro de Valencia' publicado en 1803 en alemán y basado en su paso por Valencia en 1.798 . En él se describe el arte de la almadraba y se recomienda Benidorm como destino ideal para profundizar en el arte de la pesca del atún o la sardina.

En 1852, la Nueva Guía del Bañista en España de Don Aureliano Maestre de San Juan, destaca Benidorm como uno de los atractivos del litoral alicantino y en 1853, Benidorm vuelve a aparecer en el Tratado de Fuentes Minerales de España dedicado al incipiente turismo de salud de los Baños de Busot.

La mejora de las infraestructuras viarias permite el inicio de una nueva actividad económica: el turismo. En la segunda mitad del siglo XIX abre sus puertas al público el Balneario la Virgen del Sufragio cuya finalidad es la de atender a los viajantes de Alcoy, Madrid y de otras poblaciones de España que visitaban Benidorm con el objetivo de tomar baños de mar.

Gracias a la construcción de la nueva carretera Silla-Alicante y a la llegada a Alicante del ferrocarril desde Madrid, la actividad turística se ve favorecida. En 1914 se inaugura el ferrocarril de vía estrecha -el conocido Trenet de la Marina-, que une Alicante con Altea y, consecuentemente, con Benidorm.

En la década de los años cincuenta concurren dos circunstancias vitales para la orientación definitiva de Benidorm hacia la actividad turística. Por un lado, en 1952, la Almadraba del Racó de l’Oix cesa definitivamente su actividad como consecuencia de la escasez de capturas, con el consiguiente perjuicio a las muchas familias dependientes de la pesca como modo de vida; no obstante, por otro lado, en 1956 el Ayuntamiento aprueba el ordenamiento urbanístico del municipio con la pretensión de crear una ciudad concebida para el ocio turístico a base de calles bien trazadas y amplias avenidas siguiendo la configuración natural de las playas.

El Plan General de 1956 configuraba el trazado del Benidorm tal y como se conoce en nuestros días. Se trataba de una concepción horizontal, basada en una línea más clásica de edificios de baja altura como los apartamentos, chalés y hoteles que se construyeron desde aquel preciso instante hasta los primeros años de la década de los sesenta.

El cantante más exitoso e internacional de España, Julio Iglesias, ganó la edición de 1.968, y fue imagen estelar del festival en las ediciones de 1.969, 1.973 y 1.975. Asimismo, el Dúo Dinámico se encargó de cerrar el festival en la edición de 1.962, volviendo de nuevo en la de 1.981 y, participando en diversas ediciones, hasta que en 1.977 consiguen por fin su deseada "Sirenita de Benidorm" gracias al tema "Aléjate".

En la segunda mitad de la década de los sesenta, empiezan a trabajar en Benidorm los primeros Turoperadores británicos trayendo grupos a través del aeropuerto de Manises. Aprovechando los precios y el buen clima durante todo el año, se lleva a cabo el primer intento de desestacionalización de la actividad turística.

En marzo de 1970 los turoperadores comienzan a operar con vuelos chárter a través del recién inaugurado aeropuerto de El Altet. La gran demanda de plazas hoteleras conllevó una rápida construcción de hoteles entre 1971 y 1973, con lo que Benidorm alcanzó su cenit de desarrollo vertical durante esos años ya que gran parte de los rascacielos que se levantaron en tiempo récord fueron gigantescos hoteles llamados "hotelfábrica".

En la actualidad Benidorm mantiene un excelente nivel de ocupación hotelera, tanto en verano como en invierno gracias al llamado turismo de la tercera edad.