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Arrival of two and a half million tourists at the La Jonquera border crossing

Date
1965
Archive
INSPAI, Image Center of the Provincial Government of Girona
Document type
Imatge fixa
Reference code
CAT-INSPAI-3-199767
Link to the online document
Description

The photograph of the arrival of the two and a half million tourist at the La Jonquera border crossing in 1965 symbolizes the rise of international tourism and its impact on the economic and social transformation of Catalonia. This moment, captured on the border with France, reflects the consolidation of Catalonia as the gateway to southern Europe and as a first-rate tourist destination. The document illustrates the increasing mobility of people within post-war Europe, in a context of political stability and economic development. In addition, it highlights the strategic role of border infrastructures and their function as meeting spaces between cultures. This image, from the Diputació de Girona, is a clear example of how tourism became an economic engine and a vector of Europeanization for Catalonia during the 20th century.