Postcards as snapshots of history: a look back at 1960s-70s tourism

A collector's essay examines vintage postcards from the 1960s and 1970s as tangible archives of mass tourism's early days, particularly in Spain. One card, franked Torremolinos, 25 November 1975, notes Franco's death and the cancellation of entertainment. Under Franco, Spain's economy boomed via tourism: fishing villages like Benidorm became high-rise resorts. By 1975, over 30 million foreign visitors arrived. Postcards served as viral marketing, with hotels rubber-stamping their names. Messages reveal evolving attitudes: from 1960s wonder to late-1970s complaints about cheap alcohol. By 2024, overtourism protests erupted in the Canary Islands and Barcelona. The essay argues these cards, unlike ephemeral digital images, have physically endured, preserving first-hand testimony of affordable travel's first flush.