The Development of the Hotel and Tourism Industry in the Twentieth Century Comparative Perspectives from Western Europe, 1900–1970

The book includes a varied collection of studies on the hotel industry in Western Europe from the beginning of the twentieth century until the 1970s, that is, before the severe economic crisis of these years. Evidently, it does not cover all of the geographical areas, but we consider that we have compiled highly interesting material for tourism history scholars. This group of studies constitutes first-class material with which to make comparisons and establish a starting point for subsequent research. In fact, throughout the pages of this volume, we can find relevant aspects such as the hotel offer, its evolution throughout the century, its commitment in the configuration of tourist spaces, the role of the State, the impact of the war on the hotel industry and the resilience of the sector, the connections between the banking and hotel sectors and, of course, the investments made in the hotel industry. All of these aspects are particularly relevant in order to better understand how, throughout the twentieth century, a hotel supply that was increasingly related to tourism was shaped in Western Europe, as more and more people who did not form part of the elite classes began to partake in this economic and social phenomenon.