The expansion of the Welfare State saw a focus on workers' rights along with many other values, and millions of people began to enjoy paid holidays. Tourism as we know it today grew from the 1950s onwards, and from the very beginning it was considered an economic activity of great interest to Spain.
The importance of tourism for our country is demonstrated by the existence of various tourism policies which, as early as 1952, proposed ways of dealing with difficulties or promoting changes that were considered necessary.
Several of these documents were drawn up during the Franco dictatorship, following the indicative planning approach. Another five are from the constitutional period, and were drawn up by governments led by different political parties. Some of them - but not all - incorporate the vision and proposals of the organisations and stakeholders within the sector.
Each plan describes the challenges faced by decision-makers at the time it was drawn up, the objectives established, the measures and mechanisms designed to accomplish them, and finally, the resources put in place for that purpose.
These are very significant documents that highlight the important role of the State Government in the promotion and development of Spanish tourism. They describe the challenges faced in recent decades, the issues that were of concern at different times, and the actions taken to address them. But their value is not merely historical; they allow us to identify the initiatives that had a positive impact, they help us to understand which problems remain despite efforts made to address them, and in this way provide us with a more realistic scenario that can inform the design of current and future tourism policy
The different tourism plans promoted by the Administration since 1952 are:
- Preliminary National Tourism Plan 1952.
- Draft National Tourism Plan 1953.
- National Tourism Plan 1953.
- Plan for Economic and Social Development 1964-1967.
- II Plan for Economic and Social Development 1968-1971.
- III Plan for Economic and Social Development 1972-1975.
- Futures plan 1992-1996.
- Futures 1996-1999.
- Comprehensive Plan for the Quality of Spanish Tourism (PICTE) 2000-2006.
- Presentation of Horizon 2020 (strategic plan for the future of Spanish tourism, 2007).
- Horizon 2020: Plan for Spanish Tourism.
- Comprehensive National Tourism Plan 2012-2015.
- General Guidelines for the Spanish Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2030.
The different tourism plans promoted by the Administration since 1952 are available below.
