Benidorm is a resort place which can be an example of successful development of tourism in Valencia. Some dozens of years ago Europeans did not know anything about that place. It was an unknown village 40 km away from Alicante. Only the Spaniards and some wealthy people from the Old World had spent holidays there since the end of the 18th century. They did not want anybody else to know about it because they hoped that place to be far away from the noisy tourist routes. But they were not able to preserve the place only for the elite.
In 1960 the continious growth of the Spanish national economy started. There appeared lots of hotels in Benidorm. The British, the French and the Germans liked it very much and the native population has grown more than 20 times. The British, who primarily adored that place, now are considered to be the second natives of Benidorm. It is not strange because the brand “Costa Blanca”, the name of the region where Benidorm is situated, belongs to the British. The company British European Airways was the first company which united all the resorts of Alicante province under the name of “Costa Blanca”. The British European Airways was the predecessor of the British Airways nowadays.
Benidorm can be called Spanish Rio de Janeiro. Even the symbols of the cities are alike. In Rio the symbol is a famous statue of Christ dominating the city. In Benidorm it is a cross on a hill illuminated by high-powered projectors in the dark.
Life in Benidorm is in full swing round the clock. The British people, who are famous as the arbiters of the world club fashion, gave it the status of the second after Ibiza resort among the fans of dancing music. Even in winter there are a lot of tourists in Benidorm. It is the only tourist place in Spain where hotels are full all the year round. Less than ten per cent of rooms in hotels can be vacant in summer.
Benidorm is also famous for its Terra mitica park which was opened in 2000. It is a great complex of attractions about the history of the development of Mediterranean peoples. It is a unique place in Europe. One mln peole visited it in 2000, when it was opened.
It is clear nowadays that we can’t speak about Benidorm as a reservation for the elite. Benidorm is a gigantic complex for summer holidays of different social groups: from students to pensioners. We may only sympathize with millionaires and wish them great success.
