The War Routes in the European Tourist Market During the Spanish Civil War

Abstract

During the Spanish Civil War, War Routes with tourist itineraries were organized in the area controlled by General Francisco Franco. They began to operate on 1 July 1938 and ran throughout the whole of the following year. The objective was, on the one hand, to create a new tourism product essentially aimed at the European market in order to attract tourists and obtain foreign currency. On the other hand, these itineraries formed part of a propaganda campaign which sought to spread the virtues of the new regime that was under construction in order to counteract the campaign being carried out against it abroad by the legitimate regime of the Republic. This new tourism product was promoted among the principal European travel agencies, although it generated poor economic results. This article studies the promotion of these itineraries, the travel agencies that were interested in them, the banks that acted as intermediaries and the results of the initiative.