Benidorm reinforces security, cleaning and lifeguard services on the beaches ahead of Holy Week with a total of 86 people

Benidorm's beaches are preparing for the start of Holy Week, the first major holiday period of the year, which, starting this weekend, will bring thousands of tourists to the city to enjoy the festivities. Following today's meeting of the beach management body, where the special reinforcement plan for this holiday period was discussed, the Councillor for Beaches, Mónica Gómez, announced that the special cleaning, lifeguard, and security operation for the beaches, designed for this important tourist event, will have 86 personnel. "As is customary every year, all these services will be reinforced to meet the anticipated occupancy levels on our beaches during these days," she stated.

Regarding this first major tourist event of the year, the special cleaning and lifeguard service will be in place from March 28th to April 6th, coinciding with school holidays and public holidays in the various autonomous communities of Spain, with particular emphasis between the 2nd and 6th, when holidays are observed in all regions. The councillor for beaches stressed that “Benidorm's beaches are among the few on the Spanish coast that offer lifeguard and cleaning services twelve months a year; services that are increased or reinforced during Easter and summer to meet the high demand they always experience during these two peak seasons.”

As for lifeguarding, the service will operate from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and the team will consist of approximately twenty people. Specifically, the lifeguard stations on Levante Beach will have three lifeguards in chairs and two on foot, as will the station on Poniente Beach. In Mal Pas, there will be one lifeguard. The team will also include a supervisor, two beach managers, two rescue boat operators, two ambulance crew members, and two more at the first aid station, which will be staffed with nursing personnel.

During Holy Week, the city's three accessible beach access points will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to facilitate swimming for people with mobility issues. Each of these points will have two lifeguards, as Councillor Mónica Gómez explained.

Regarding cleaning services, the number of personnel will be increased to 28, and the frequency of manual collection will be increased, with the introduction of afternoon and night shifts, as well as the use of the Pelican boat. Thus, there will be three manual cleaning shifts on the three beaches: morning, afternoon, and night, with a total of eleven, two, and six workers, respectively. In addition to this, there will be mechanical cleaning with tractors and screening machines, which will be carried out entirely at night, between 9:00 p.m. and 4:20 a.m., with four more workers participating. Furthermore, there will be one worker on the Pelican boat (from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), one mechanic on call, two maintenance workers, and one cleaning supervisor.

The councilwoman stated that all the aforementioned additional services aim to “guarantee the safety of residents and tourists, reinforcing attention at strategic points and ensuring a rapid response to any emergency.” She expressed her hope that activity on the beaches during these days “will proceed normally, without incident, and allow all users to enjoy our most precious asset: the beaches,” according to Mónica Gómez.

Regarding security, the City Council will also reinforce the police presence on the beaches and surrounding areas from April 2nd to 6th, with a total of 32 officers from both the regular and additional staff, distributed across morning, afternoon, and night shifts. Specifically, there will be eight officers, one supervisor, and one support vehicle in the morning; the same in the afternoon; and six officers, one supervisor, and one support vehicle at night. In addition, a quad bike and a police boat with two officers will be available. These measures will be supplemented by the reinforcements also planned by the National Police Corps for the same period.

Improvement actions

In preparation for the start of the holiday season, the City Council has also undertaken some improvement and maintenance work on the beach facilities. This included moving sand to prepare the footbaths, especially those in Plaza del Torrejó and Levante Beach, which had been most damaged by the recent wind and rain.

In addition, minor damage to the walkways leading to the footbaths on all beaches has been repaired and cleaned to ensure they are in the best possible condition. The sand has also been turned over on Levante, Poniente, and Mal Pas beaches.