Recommendations about sun and beach tourism in face of Covid-19
Specialists from Latin America and Europe present recommendations on sun and beach tourism in face of the Covid-19 crisis
More than 40 specialists from 12 countries have come together to present a set of specific recommendations for people responsible for beach management in Latin America and southern Europe in face of the crisis generated in the tourism industry with Covid-19. These specialists have proposed creating a protocol regarding the return to beaches, such that they are safe, organized and can be sustainable.
The IBERO-AMERICAN BEACH MANAGEMENT AND CERTIFICATION NETWORK — PROPLAYAS has recently published a document containing possible scenarios, impacts and recommendations regarding the management of touristic beaches in Ibero-America considering Covid-19.
This document resulted from the effort of 44 authors, who defined multiple recommendations based on their fields of study, such as environmental sciences, economy and psychology. The specialists aimed to present these recommendations to a sector that has had its activities totally or partially interrupted, which implies in the loss of millions of dollars, especially in destinations such as Cancun (Mexico) or the Dominican Republic, where there are thousands of empty hotel rooms due to the absence of tourists at the beach.
The report is divided into two parts.
The first consists on a broad analysis of beach tourism impacts and scenarios due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which affects tourism activities in almost all countries of Latin American and southern Europe. Here there are also 16 focal and specific recommendations to strengthen beach management, transforming this crisis into an opportunity for local economies and ecosystem conservation. Actions such as reduction of beach user density or increases in the level of confidence among tourists are some of the recommendations of the PROPLAYAS specialists.
The second part of the document includes different points of view and lines of action to face the pandemic at the beach, regarding aspects such as carrying capacity, sand aeration and collaborative economy. Authors from 12 countries analyzed the situation from their local perspective, as well as considering the whole of Latin America, Portugal and Spain. Finally, the document includes two special contributions, the first regarding a management program recommended to be implemented in every beach and the other with recommendations from the Italian national rescue service considering their own country.
As said by the general coordinator of the PROPLAYAS Network, Camilo M. Botero, “We mobilized our network as quickly as possible to offer a tool in time for those responsible for beach management that, at the moment, have limited resources and lack clear guidance on how to act”.
The document entitled SUN AND BEACH TOURISM IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19: SCENARIOS AND RECOMMENDATIONS contributes with technical reflections on the sanitation crisis and its subsequent crises to beach managers, municipalities and tourists. Botero also explained that “It is a document so that the decisions that governments need to take NOW are supported by knowledge and the experience of dozens of specialists, to work as a guide for people working at different institutions”.
The document was published in Portuguese and Spanish and can be downloaded free of cost from the PROPLAYAS webpage or requested through the network’s e-mail <red.proplayas@gmail.com>. Moreover, at the beginning of May, a space will be created where the network’s specialists can be consulted, so that managers from both continents can ask questions on the subject.
The Ibero-American Beach Management and Certification Network is an online community present in 16 countries of Latin America and southern Europe, which congregates 59 working groups and over 350 members of different fields. The PROPLAYAS Network is composed of a group of scientists, civil society organizations, companies, and civil servants, all of whom are directly related to beaches.
