Turespaña has released a commemorative video celebrating 40 years of promoting Spain. The narrative picks out the highlights of that period, as well as the lockdowns and silence” of pandemic”:
- You see, this is a story of change,
- and it begins long before I was born.
- Spain back then was something else.
- People saw us as an exotic country,
- a unique place with a culture all its own.
- And we would say with pride: visit Spain.
- Later, when I was young,
- people from all over Europe started to arrive,
- with their cameras, their sandals,
- and turning red like prawns under the sun.
- They brought us modernity.
- They showed us new ways of living.
- And, without realising it, we began to change too.
- We put on a bikini and when we came out of the water,
- Spain had become the best beach in Europe.
- People would say: Spain is different.
- And, honestly, they were right.
- They came because they felt good here, really good,
- although, to be honest,
- I’m not sure we always knew how to tell that story properly
- until 1985, when we finally got our act together,
- Turespaña was born.
- We asked Miró for a sun, and with that art, that light, we told the world
- that everything in Spain lived under that radiant sun,
- and we stepped out into the world, saying proudly,
- hey, this isn’t just any average place, you know.
- Those were years of momentum of energy, of confidence.
- We even got a high speed train.
- The Olympic Games came to Barcelona,
- Sevilla’s Expo,
- The Xacobea in Galicia
- Madrid as the European capital of culture
- all of Spain seemed to be telling the world
- that we had a passion for life,
- because if there’s something we have here, it’s passion,
- passion for what we do, for who we are.
- By that point, Spain no longer needed an introduction.
- People already knew us.
- What we needed was to consolidate, which sounds technical,
- but in my language, it means there’s no stopping this now.
- Spain was no longer just a word printed on a plane ticket.
- It was the flavours of gaspacho,
- a concert at the Palau,
- A stroll through the Prado, or tapas at a bar,
- and of course, our beaches.
- Spain was and is our way of being and of living,
- something many places do not understand
- because these aren’t the same thing.
- It was a time of style, of identity,
- and we told the world with complete confidence,
- you NEED Spain.
- Of course you do, like olive oil, needs toast.
- We spoke.
- And even if they didn’t understand our words, they understood us.
- Because here we don’t just speak Spanish, Galian, Catalan, or Basque.
- Here we speak dance, wine, art, the Mediterranean,
- with full plazas and busy hands.
- There were difficult moments, too, of course,
- just when we were soaring, everything stopped,
- so much pain, everyone at home, but not for long.
- Spain did its homework.
- We gave it everything we had, and as soon as it was possible,
- Turespaña reminded the world that it was time to return to Spain.
- And oh, did they ever,
- coming back, made us stronger, more resilient.
- We understand that we weren’t just any ordinary destination
- and that after a pandemic, after lockdowns and silence,
- people deserved Spain.
- because those who come never fully leave.
- And if you don’t believe and look around, people who visit return,
- And if so many come back, it must be for a reason, right?
- The pairing, the blend, the fusion. That of Spain!
- That is who we are.
- And after all those years, let me tell you something,
- Tourism is a fundamental part of all our lives.
- It opened us to the world. It showed us who we were,
- and how far we can go. And look how far we’ve come.
- Today we can say with confidence
- that we’re the world’s favourite destination.
- Now they don’t just come from Europe,
- they come from Canada, from Japan, from near and far.
- And now it’s time to learn to travel better
- with a bit more technology, a bit more artificial intelligence,
- and a whole lot more collaboration
- because today’s tourism needs to be different,
- calmer, more responsible, more sustainable,
- and that that’s a beautiful thing.
- And as Turespaña says now,
- if you think you already know us, think again,
- because there’s still so much Spain left to discover.
- And yes, there’s a future and it’s looking very bright.
- And as I taught my friend John that summer in 92, gracias,
- Y hasta pronto.
- Turespaña, 40 year’s showcasing the world’s finest tourism
