From elitist to popular tourism: leisure cruises to Spain during the first third of the twentieth century (1900–1936)

Abstract

This article analyses the evolution of ocean cruises in the first third of the twentieth century. It focuses on inbound cruise traffic to Spain as well as major outbound national markets, particularly the United Kingdom. Analysis is carried out using mainly archival and newspaper sources. The chronological structure of the paper highlights the important changes that took place throughout the period of study. Before the First World War, leisure cruises constituted a sporadic activity. During the inter-war period and particularly after the 1920s, the number of cruises offered grew exponentially. The paper reveals the high level of dependency that ocean cruises had on transatlantic shipping line services and migration traffic. It demonstrates that cruise activity evolved in a very different way to the tourism phenomenon in general. The diffuse and widespread idea that in the past cruses were an exclusive privilege of the elite classes is open to question. During the period between the two world wars, the socio-economic characteristics of cruise passengers changed significantly. Ocean cruises became a holiday product accessible to a much wider and heterogeneous market, particularly in Britain.