Benidorm Beaches, open

Benidorm beaches have been opened this Monday "in complete safety", coinciding with the start of Phase 3 of the state plan for the restrictions lifting, as indicated by the mayor, Toni Pérez. At 09:00 hours, and through the access points enabled -20 in total-, the first users have stepped on the beaches, which due to the Covid-19 pandemic were closed on March 13 and completely closing on 14 March.

This reopening has been carried out based on the “global plan” designed by the City Council together with Visit Benidorm and which has among its axes the so-called 'Benidorm Beach Safety' plan whose “first objective is to enjoy the beach in freedom and feeling protected "Knowing that the necessary measures are being applied to respect" the physical distance that is, at this time and in the absence of a vaccine, the most important mandate transferred by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Spain to avoid the transmission of the virus ”.

For this, Levante and Poniente beaches have been divided into 20 sectors, 12 of them with free access with 5,122 16-square-meter (4x4 meter) plots, located 6 meters from the shore, as established by regulations launched by the Government of Spain. Each plot can be occupied by 1 to 4 people -5 if one of them is under 6 years old-, up to a maximum occupancy of 20,488 people. There are two types of open access sectors: for those over 70 years of age and for the rest of the population, although the elderly will be able to access the rest of the sectors if they wish. In the case of families or groups with children under 6 years old, up to five people will be allowed. The concessionaire, for its part, has 8 sectors for hammocks.

In this regard, the mayor stressed that "the arrangement of the beaches to adapt them to the current situation has reduced the rental hammocks of the concessionaire by nearly 900".

The mayor has stressed that 'Benidorm Beach Safety' is “a modular and very versatile system” that “will have a support of human, material and technological resources like we had never imagined”, showing that “you can manage sandy areas capable of accommodating on a normal summer beach day, more than 40,000 people, and who now, due to capacity limitations, will be able to accommodate just over 25,000 ”.

Within this versatility is the possibility of modulating the sectors and their distribution depending on the demand and use they have at any time or period.

During these first days of activity on the beaches, with a low occupancy due to mobility restrictions in the national territory, users can approach the access points, where they are assigned a plot in the corresponding sector. In the coming days, a web platform will be launched to reserve and choose a plot. Through the platform, the user will receive an access code, which must be presented at the corresponding access point. People who do not have access to technology will have six face-to-face points where they will be assisted to facilitate access.

In general, the beach will be open from 09:00 to 21:00. In the days in which "peaks in demand" may occur, morning and afternoon shifts could be established on time to double the capacity of a day. After that time, cleaning and disinfection will be carried out, based on all applicable regulations, with special emphasis on items in common use, such as footbaths. Some footbaths that supply themselves entirely with sea water and that, for health reasons, they will always be in uninterrupted operation.

Benidorm Beach Safety

The specific plan is framed within ‘Benidorm DTI + Safe’, aimed at generating confidence for residents and visitors and helping to reactivate employment and the local productive fabric. With safety as the cornerstone of all action,  Benidorm DTI + Safe is structured into three interconnected lines of work: health monitoring, through Patti Recovery project; the commitment to quality, and the COVID19 ON protocols; and the management of public spaces, which is where this Benidorm Beach Safety takes place. This denomination is oriented to recover the confidence of the international market, which is the most reluctant to travel at the moment.