Benidorm is a hugely popular hotspot for British tourists. Hordes of Britons normally fill the sands on the beaches of the holiday destination in the south of Spain. However, with Spain only allowing UK visitors in from June 21, and very few tourists currently in the country, the beaches in Benidorm make for a very different sight indeed.
Only a few beachgoers are visible next to the blue sea.
When visitors do eventually return to Benidorm, they will have to be prepared for some changes.
The capacity of the main beaches has been cut from the usual 40,000 people a day to 25,000 as a result of the need for social distancing.
The beach sun loungers have also been cut by 900.
DON’T MISS
The sands have been divided up into “plots” for people to book.
Currently, due to the lack of tourists, sunbathers can access the beaches from different locations and are then escorted to their plot.
Over the next week, the system will change as a new website will go online, allowing visitors to book up in advance.
The Levante and Poniente beaches have been divided into 20 sectors, 12 of them with free access with 5,122 16-square-metre (4×4 metre) plots, located six metres from the shore, as established by regulations launched by the Government of Spain.
Each beach plot can be occupied by one to four people – five if one of them is under six years old – up to a maximum occupancy of 20,488 people.
There are two types of open access sectors: one for those over 70 years old and one for the rest of the population.
However, the elderly will be able to access the rest of the sectors if they wish. There are eight sectors for the installation of hammocks.
The mayor said today: “Benidorm Beach Safety is a modular and very versatile system that will have the support of human, material and technological resources like we had never imagined.”
The new website will give users 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 service points where they will be taken to their sites.
In general, the beach will be open from 9am to 9pm. In the days in which “peaks in demand” may occur, morning and afternoon shifts could be established 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 foot washes if not powered by seawater.
Additional reporting by Rita Sobot.
