Fascinating then-and-now photos show how Spain's Benidorm transformed from a tiny fishing village into one of Britain's favourite and brashest package holiday resorts Benidorm's tourist industry kicked off in the 1950s following an ambitious urban planning venture Photos show how the fishing village became a metropolis of skyscrapers, with 2.7million tourists per year READ MORE: Astonishing photos show freediver squeezing through tiny holes underwater By Esther Marshall Published: 10:30, 21 July 2024 | Updated: 10:33, 21 July 2024 e-mail View comments Advertisement It's known today for British pubs, mobility scooters and a popular ITV sitcom, but Benidorm was once a tiny fishing village with barely a tourist in sight. As these fascinating then and now pictures show.
The resort's first hotel opened in 1926, but Benidorm only turned its full focus on tourism in the 1950s, following the decline of its fishing industry. In 1953, it became the first place in Spain to let women wear bikinis. With the help of a postwar package holiday boom, and the opening of the El Altet Alicante Airport in 1967, Benidorm earned a place on the map for sun-seeking British tourists.
In the 1970s, huge demand for Spanish holidays led to a building boom, which saw skyscraper hotels pop up across Benidorm's skyline. Visit Benidorm says 'hotels were built in record time to meet demand' with many of the large building projects known as 'hotel factories'. Despite its humble roots, Benidorm is today one of .