During the 1940s the first foreign tourists began to appear, attracted by the warm climate and long sandy beach. But during the 1950s Lloret began to change forever.The town experienced huge growth thanks to tourism. Mansions became hotels and vineyards were urbanised. When there were no more vineyards to build on the forest was cut to build on. More housing was built as it became the vast urban sprawl you find today. The town became hugely popular as a package tourist destination so that by 1975 there were more than 200 hotels in Lloret. There were also more than 400 bars and over 50 nightclubs.