The economy of Villa Gesell is dominated by the summer tourist season, which sees thousands of holidaymakers make their way to the Atlantic coast of Buenos Aires Province.

[citation needed] In 1931 Don Carlos Idaho Gesell purchased 16 acres (65,000 m2) of sand dunes, and over the years he planted many thousands of trees and built a home for his family.

Between the 1940s and the 1970s the population of Villa Gesell swelled as hippies and free thinkers fleeing the crowded metropolis of Buenos Aires made their way to the picturesque coastal village.

In the early years of Villa Gesell, Don Carlos Gesell introduced the "Plan galopante" (galloping plan) which meant if a householder would purchase a property inside Villa Gesell, and if they built a home within a specified period of time, a percentage of the purchase price would be discounted, in time bringing in thousands of people from around the world, especially Germany and Italy and other European nations, seeking a quiet and peaceful place to live.

As the sand dunes were bulldozed to make space for seafront bars and restaurants, the settlement of Mar Azul was established in order to reestablish Gesell's ideal of urban development in tune with nature.