“Do you think that men from here behave towards foreign women in the same way as towards women who are from here?” The question that the interviewers of the Institute of Public Opinion asked the residents and hospitality workers in the main tourist municipalities in the middle of the summer campaign of 1971 made it clear that the adventures of José Luis López Vázquez and Alfredo Landa were not mere cinematographic humor resources, but tourism was really influencing the way in which Spanish society saw the world and interacted.
The demographic study, carried out in August of that year, did not hesitate to link the attitude of the Spaniards of the coastal municipalities that hosted that first boom of sun and beach tourism towards foreigners with the influence that their presence had had on their customs. and values. And the results left no room for doubt: the vast majority considered the arrival of tourists as a positive and progressive element and were clear that the phenomenon had contributed to an important social change, including relationships and the vision of sexuality. .
The survey by the precursor body of the current Sociological Research Center was carried out on a universe of 1,814 people aged 15 to 64 of both sexes and diverse social conditions. The vast majority (1,271) were residents of tourist areas and, to a lesser extent (542), workers in the sector who carried out seasonal campaigns in these municipalities. The study, however, did not detail which municipalities these were or the distribution of the surveys in them. Not just by area, although the Levantine and Malaga coasts were references of this tourism model at the beginning of the 70s.
From the outset, it was already clear that there was a minimally fluid relationship between locals and tourists, since 71% of those interviewed claimed to have had a conversation with a foreign visitor to their town of residence or work stay. In fact, numerous studies on tourism in Spain point out that the friendly welcome received from the locals and their hospitable nature was one of the great attractions that foreigners found when visiting Spain, beyond the beaches and the good climate. The ghetto model fostered decades later by resorts or cruise ships was still far away.
A not insignificant 33% of those surveyed also acknowledged having welcomed a tourist into their home, even if only occasionally, and 42% considered one of these foreigners who visited or had visited their municipality as a friend. 23% claimed to correspond with a tourist they had met and 22% acknowledged seeing the visitor or former visitor with relative frequency.
Conversely, the tables changed, since 49% acknowledged having only been abroad for a month or less throughout their lives. Of course, the majority had done it for tourism (68%), no longer for work (26%), denoting a change in trend. THE new Spaniards crossed the border to go on vacation, not to carry out agricultural campaigns in France or to work in the factories of Germany or Switzerland, as just a decade before.
Knowledge of foreign languages, evidently, was not the majority, although it was significant. 44% of those surveyed claimed to be able to get by in some of them, especially in French (45% said they “speak it regularly”), and less in English (28%), German (10%) or Italian (8%). Although the contrast was not only linguistic, and a resounding 90% considered that the way of life of the visitors was different from their own. Of course, for the majority 44%, it was clearly better, while 26% believed that foreigners lived worse. A cautious 30% preferred not to demonstrate.
By nationality or geographical origin, French, Italian and Nordic were the ones who had the best reception, while those interviewed were more distant with English, German and North American. Specifically, 38% would have a Frenchman as a friend and 21% would have no problem marrying someone of that nationality; 33% would be friends with an Italian man or woman and 16% would agree to marry someone from that country, and 31% would make friends with someone from the Nordic countries, while 18% would not mind even getting married.
In the case of the English, while 30% believed they could establish a friendship, another 30% preferred them only as tourists. A balance that was broken in the case of North Americans, since although 24% could have someone as a friend, 34% preferred them only as visitors. Regarding the Germans, 30% would consider them as friends, but 28% preferred to have them exclusively as tourists.
Going into detail about the influence that tourism had had on Spanish society, particularly in tourist areas, 38% of those interviewed considered that the way of life had changed “quite a bit” since the emergence of tourism and 24% He went even further considering that he had changed “a lot.” The reading, however, could not be more positive, since a clear 81% stated that tourism had been beneficial and an even greater 86% were clear that tourism had improved the standard of living of Spaniards.
And here came the key questions of the survey, since after questioning the interviewees about raising children, decisions in the domestic sphere and thorny topics such as birth control, divorce and extramarital sexual relations, the study stopped at the Couple relationships. “Do you think that, in general terms, the way men behave towards women has changed? Do you think tourism has influenced it?”
The induced question led to an obvious answer and 82% answered affirmatively. Without a doubt, the treatment of men towards women had changed, and tourism was in some way responsible for this for 64% of those interviewed. The woman did not appear only as a passive subject, since the survey also asked the other way around: “And the way a woman behaves towards a man?” Again, a resounding 82% considered that yes, it had indeed changed, and tourism was responsible for this for 66%.
Regarding the behavior of locals towards foreign women – in this case the study only asked about men – the vast majority (67%) responded that they did not behave with them as with Spanish women. It is understood, although it is not stated, that the smartest ones would look for an informal relationship – so to speak – with the tourists that they were not looking for, or that they were not trying to have, with the locals.
The next question took this assumption for granted: “Do you think that there is currently more morality in everything related to sexuality than there was a few years ago?” Logically, the majority response (52%) was negative. “Do you think this is due to tourism?” Yes, in part (55%). Yes, totally (14%).
Of course, beyond sex, the majority of respondents did not consider that tourism had influenced values ??such as honor, honesty or generosity in Spanish society. The pull of the Swedes was evident, although there were limits. Because the end of summer, as Ramón and Manolo sang, always ended up arriving.
