Sun, Sea and Sangria - Would you like chips with that?

April 2, 2008 5:33 AM

Pedro Zaragoza Orts the former mayor of Benidorm who died yesterday aged 85, transformed this small fishing village into a centre for package tourists. Much loved by some as the resort where Tattoos meet Tapas.
posted by adamvasco (12 comments total)

I have never heard of this "world capital of tourism". Is it a British thing?
posted by smackfu at 5:40 AM on April 2, 2008

Yeah, I've never heard of it either. But then, there are a ton of package tour "paradises" now, from Belize to Hurghada. Was Benidorm the first or something?
posted by xthlc at 6:21 AM on April 2, 2008

I like the 1962 picture - not much there. The Las-Vegas-on-the-beach of the modern photo looks positively ghastly.
posted by notsnot at 6:37 AM on April 2, 2008

Benidorm has proverbial status in the UK as the ultimate in working-class package holidays: bingo, fish'n'chips, and Watney's Red Barrel.

Senor Orts' legacy is accordingly a bit debatable.
posted by Phanx at 6:44 AM on April 2, 2008

Is it a British thing?

Pretty much, yes. The cost of a holiday in Benidorm has long been cheaper than a holiday in the UK, and so the great unwashed now tend to holiday in Benidorm rather than Blackpool. Hence the vaguely sneering tone in some of the articles.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:46 AM on April 2, 2008

Also of note: it struck me, in the lead article, how refer to Britons taking "their holidays". As though it's something that everyone has, or that everyone does. In the US, we never use that possessive pronoun - taking a vacation is a novelty. Work, work, work. There are guys here in the office that are *proud* that they've never taken a vacation in 25 years. I responded, how in *hell* is that in any way something to be proud of?
posted by notsnot at 6:46 AM on April 2, 2008

Archetypal Benidorm Entertainment.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:53 AM on April 2, 2008

Wow, my mental image of hell just got quite a bit clearer.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 7:29 AM on April 2, 2008

Icelanders and other northern Europeans go there too. I went there once. My year in my secondary school intended to go to Crete for a giant package tour, but due to the size of the group, we had to go to Benidorm instead. This is when I'm 19, by the by. I didn't sign up for the tour because I'd be traveling in Europe for most of that summer. However, the timing worked out so that it would be fairly easy for me to go down to Benidorm and check it out. Because I arrived there at the same time as everyone else I managed to blend in and take up residence in an empty bed in one of the mini-apartments in the hotel. I was there for about a week. I had some fun, but mostly I just got drunk with some friends. Some bad stuff happened while I was there, so I can't say I remember that place fondly.
posted by Kattullus at 10:46 AM on April 2, 2008

I have never heard of this "world capital of tourism". Is it a British thing?

Heh. The immediate reminder that this is an American website. Regardless, I'm an American and I've heard of Benidorm. It was mentioned several times in different conversations either as a great holiday place or, derisively, as that holiday place. Mostly by Europeans I knew, yes. Actually, the very first time I heard of it was when I was planning a trip to Spain and mentioned this to some neighbors. The conversation went like this:

Me: Yeah, I'm going to Spain for 6 weeks!
Them: Oh, really! Make sure you don't miss Benidorm. Its a lot of fun!

Me (later to another friend): What's Benidorm?
Her: You've got to be fucking kidding me. Put that on your AVOID list.
posted by vacapinta at 3:59 PM on April 2, 2008

There's where ever you are. There's Hell. And then quite apparently, there's....Benidorm?

Crikey!
posted by humannaire at 11:53 PM on April 2, 2008

It was not enough, however, just to let rip with the permits and the cement. Mr Zaragoza had to sell his town. And he stopped at nothing. The same resourcefulness that had made him try his youthful hand at railway portering and phosphorous-drilling, rather than going to sea, stood him in good stead as Benidorm's salesman. He scattered flowering almond branches from the town in wintry Stockholm department stores. “Bottled sunshine” Benidorm wine was sent to the Queen of England. At odd points on German autobahns hand-painted signposts to Benidorm appeared. Best of all, in 1952 Mr Zaragoza allowed newfangled bikinis everywhere in town, defying both the archbishop and the Guardia Civil. Let them wear what they like, he said, and our visitors will return.

- From The Economist's obituary of Pedro Zaragoza Oarts.
posted by Kattullus at 11:40 AM on April 18, 2008