Europe at the Seaside: The Economic History of Mass Tourism in the Mediterranean

Mass tourism is one of the most striking developments in postwar western societies, involving economic, social, cultural, and anthropological factors. For many countries it has become a significant, if not the primary, source of income for the resident population. The Mediterranean basin, which has long been a very popular destination, is explored here in the first study to scrutinize the region as a whole and over a long period of time. In particular, it investigates the area's economic and social networks directly involved in tourism, which includes examining the most popular spots that attract tourists and the crucial actors, such as hotel entrepreneurs, travel agencies, charter companies, and companies developing seaside resort networks. This important volume presents a fascinating picture of the economics of tourism in one of the world's most visited destinations.

Luciano Segreto is Professor of Economic History and the History of International Economic Relations at the University of Florence. Chairman of the Cultural Memory Council of the ICCA, he is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme d’Aquitaine and of many international journals.

Carles Manera has a PhD in history and one in economics. He has been awarded several prizes for his research, including the Prize of Economics in Catalonia (2003). He was vice-chancellor of the University of the Balearic Islands from 1996 to 2003). Currently, he is director of the research group on economic history and the researcher in charge of the project “Economic History of Mass Tourism in Spain, 1940-2000: the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean Contrasts,” financed by the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain.

Manfred Pohl received his PhD in History from the University of Saarbrucken, Germany. He is founder and chairman of the International Centre for Corporate Culture and History (ICCCH), which consists of the European Association for Banking and Financial History (EABH), the Institute for Corporate Culture Affairs (ICCA) as well as the Frankfurter Kultur Komitee. He is also founder of the Gesellschaft fur Unternehmensgeschichte and co-founder of the Konvent fur Deutschland. After forty years with Deutsche Bank, he officially retired in May of this year. Since 1997 he has been Honorary Professor at the University of Frankfurt. In October 2001 he received the European Award for Culture at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.