The Ministry for Information and Tourism (MIT) was created in 1951. As its name suggests, it was responsible for both propaganda and the provision of tourism services within the Franco Dictatorship. Spain is Different was the central slogan of a campaign of tourist promotion which was launched in 1964 by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, who led the ministry throughout Spain’s 1960s tourism boom. The slogan was made highly visible within Spain, targeting the local population as well as the tourists it ostensibly sought to attract.

Justin Crumbaugh referred to the slogan as ‘propaganda fused with tourism promotion’. 1960s Spain had obvious political differences from the rest of Europe. A state produced 1964 tourist brochure explained this by asserting that Spain had tried liberal democracy, but the nature of the country and its people rendered it unsuitable. The slogan reinforces a notion of Spanish exceptionalism which legitimised the regime in the minds of both foreign visitors and the population. ‘Difference’ was commodified by the Franco regime to make it more attractive to foreigners. Additionally, the omnipresence of tourist media to the population highlights the new role of the state in the lives of Spaniards, as a potential vehicle for their enrichment and economic advancement through the tourism industry."