Tourism and nation in Galicia (Spain)

Galicia played a secondary role in Spanish tourism policy throughout the 20th century. Located in the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, it barely participated in the early 20th century trend that transformed and popularized the Cantabrian beaches. It also did not take part in the significant tourism boom of the 1960s and beyond. However, in this article, we argue that tourism played a significant role from an ideological standpoint, reinforcing the image of the Spanish versus the Galician nation. Two elements can be identified here: the Way of Saint James acquired a great symbolic value with regard to the unity of Spain and Spanish links with European roots, while ruralism and sentimentality associated with tourism propaganda of Galicia helped reinforce the image, originating in literature, of a feminine and submissive territory. Both of the features explored in this paper have been consolidated.