Narration and placement of tourist spaces in Spanish fiction cinema (1951-1977)

Abstract

The importance of the tourism industry in Spain is unquestionable. Long before the emergence of the so-called film commissions, the use of the audiovisual industry, and in particular of cinema, as an instrument for the promotion of tourist destinations was noticeable. Based on this premise, the objective of this research study is to analyse the placement of tourist space as a product placed in the narrative and dramatic structure of the tourism-themed films produced during the life of the Spanish Ministry of Information and Tourism (1951-1977). This study, therefore, focuses on the analysis of the audiovisual narrative. The results show how the representation of the tourist space is materialised in tourist views, is associated to certain intangible values, sometimes by contrast to other spaces, and can produce a digression from the story or can be fully integrated in its dramatic structure.