Benidorm's accessible beaches exceed 8,700 users during the summer months

Benidorm's three accessible beaches have registered more than 8,700 users during the summer months, who have used them to swim with the best safety and accessibility conditions. The Councillor reported this for Beaches of the Benidorm City Council, Mónica Gómez, who stated that "once again this year, we have increased the number of people who have come to our accessible beaches during June, July, and August to enjoy a day at the beach with all the guarantees and with all the services fully adapted to their needs."

Mónica Gómez provided an overview of the service's performance during this period, during which the total number of users reached 8,720, compared to 8,684 registered during the same months last year. The Poniente accessible beach area, located near Elche Park, has been the most popular among residents, visitors, and tourists, with a total of 5,438 users over the past three months, June being the busiest month, with 1,966, 1,786 in July, and 1,686 in August.

Regarding the other two accessible areas, the Levante beach area registered a total of 2,583 users during this same period: 739, 971, and 881 in each month; while the La Cala accessible beaches registered a total of 699 users: 273 in June, 199 in July, and 227 in August, according to data provided by the local councillor.

Of the total number of users of this service, the vast majority were people with physical disabilities and/or mobility issues (8,169), although a high number of people with intellectual disabilities and sensory disabilities were also able to benefit from the services offered at these three accessible beach locations: 354 and 190, respectively.

The Councillor for Beaches emphasised that "for Benidorm City Council, accessible beach services are a priority, something reflected in the fact that we never stop investing and innovating, constantly improving the service offered to users." As an example, Mónica Gómez recalled that "last year, two adult amphibious chairs with a load capacity of 125 kilos and an XXL amphibious chair with a load capacity of 220 kilos were added to the existing chairs, in addition to the first hoist to make transferring people from a wheelchair to an amphibious chair more comfortable and safe. And this year, we've gone a step further, incorporating three children's amphibious chairs to make it easier for children with limited leg mobility to swim in the sea, as well as two more hoists, meaning we now have one at each accessible point."

She also indicated that these improvements have been completed “with the new area reserved for bathing for people with reduced mobility that has been created in Poniente,” an area equipped with seating, a walkway, and railings that allow elderly people and/or those with limited mobility to safely access the sea, to cool off and enjoy it with greater autonomy.” And that, along with these services, “in collaboration with ONCE, an innovative signaling and information system has also been incorporated, through NaviLens codes, so that blind people can know the color of the flags waving at any given time, the state of the sea, or any alerts or changes in the sea that may occur during their stay at the beach.”

“We were pioneers in bringing accessibility to our beaches so that they could be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their condition or abilities, and now we continue to continually improve this service so that our Accessible Beaches are even more comfortable, more inclusive, and more accessible for all,” Mónica explained. Gómez.

Finally, the councillor emphasised that each accessible beach spot has a series of features that facilitate adapted bathing and staying in the corresponding facilities. Thus, each spot has an access ramp, a walkway that connects to the access ramp to the sea, an adapted changing room, and an adapted restroom. Additionally, amphibious chairs and sets of amphibious crutches of different sizes are available, along with lifeguards from the concessionaire company as swim support staff, and buoys that delimit the bathing area, among other services.

Benidorm's accessible beach spots have very extended summer opening hours, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., between June 1 and September 30. During the winter, they are also fully operational, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., except for the period from January 15 to February 14, when they remain closed.