Lloret de Mar, in Girona, is marking the early years of its tourism boom with an exhibition at the Casa de la Cultura. The display honours the pioneering hoteliers who helped turn the coastal town into a major visitor destination, using photographs, historical documents, objects and testimonies.
The exhibition shows how tourism developed from the 1940s to the 1970s, when many families saw an opportunity in the sector. It also recalls the practical difficulties of the time, from unreliable electricity to early bookings made by letter. For more local coverage, see our news page.
One of the scenes remembered is Just Marlès Avenue, known locally as la riera, which is now a busy area for nightlife and hotels. In the 1960s, the riverbed was still unpaved and sand reached the doors of the first hotels. Josep Martí, second-generation owner of Xaine Park, which opened in 1964, said staff built a wooden walkway so guests could cross the stream and reach the hotel, although the Catalan water agency later fined the hotel for the unauthorised bridge.
Archivist Joaquim Daban said hotels and annexes spread quickly during the 1960s. Between 1950 and 1969, Lloret de Mar grew from nine establishments, including hotels, inns and guesthouses, to 230. Today, the town has 121 hotels and nearly 30,000 beds. The exhibition places that growth in context, showing how fast the sector expanded along the Catalan coast.
The display also highlights family stories behind that expansion. The Portavellas family from Barcelona bought the Excelsior hotel and a chalet with eight rooms in 1945 after selling their Negresco bar. Àlex Portavella said early tourists, mainly French, English and German visitors, booked by letter, travelled by car and stayed for two weeks to a month. At first, catering for the chalet was transported by a bicycle-pulled cart.
Other families came from outside tourism and moved into the sector from textiles, retail or other trades. The Noguera-Batlló family converted a summer house into a hotel in 1958, while the Garriga family used land with a textile factory to build Hotel La Palmera in 1960. Vicenç Font, a barber from the Vic area, and Maria Rosa Taulina opened Hotel Acapulco in 1970 after seeing the Costa Brava’s potential. Their story, like the others in the exhibition, reflects how Lloret de Mar’s hotel industry was built by local and migrant families over several decades.
