Approaches to the beaches carrying capacity in times of COVID-19: The case of the andalusian atlantic coast

Abstract

The announcement of the start of the summer tourist season in Spain, in the middle of the SARS CoV-2 pandemic, although it is an encouraging new, brought with it a number of uncertainties linked to guaranteeing the exercise of the activity in conditions of health safety. In this paper, an initial approximation to Andalusian Atlantic beaches carrying capacity to absorb the recreational and tourist demand has been carried out. For this purpose, the useful beach area is calculated, using the latest available aerial orthophotography (2016) and the analytical functionalities of the Geographical Information Systems. Three occupation scenarios are built according to the useful beach area per user and the establishment of one or two visiting shifts. The results show how scenario 1 could accommodate all of the potential users in a single shift. Scenario 2 could only accommodate all users by establishing a double shift and in scenario 3, neither the establishment of a double shift could accommodate residents. Although the results must be completed with analysis at more fine scales, they are a necessary first approximation that can be useful for decision making.