Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 26. March 2021, 11:56

Dear Iza, thanks for your question. I will come back to to with at least some most important rules of thump...
Just for a short recommandation:

Management priorities and carrying capacity at a high-use beach from tourists’ perspectives: A way towards sustainable beach tourism, Marine Policy

Volume 74, December 2016, Pages 213-219

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X16303712

 

Establishing a multi-criteria evaluation structure for tourist beaches in Taiwan: A foundation for sustainable beach tourism

Ocean & Coastal Management

Volume 121, March 2016, Pages 88-96

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569115300880

 

Sustainable beach management and promotion of the local tourist industry: Can blue flags be a good driver of this balance?

Ocean & Coastal Management

Volume 198, 1 December 2020, 105359

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569120302684

 

The implementation of a world-famous tourism ecolabel triggers political support for beach management

Tourism Management Perspectives

Volume 35, July 2020, 100691

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211973620300581

Does this help?

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 28. March 2021, 18:09

Quote from Iza Docker on 26. March 2021, 9:52

Hi everyone!

I would like to ask you a question and know your opinions about it. I am from Spain, specifically from the Valencian Community, where the sun and beach tourism predominates.
In my opinion, it is essential that this type of tourism becomes sustainable and reduces the negative impact on the environment.
My question is, what measures could be implemented so that this type of tourism becomes more sustainable?

In my opinion, this is a very important approach, because these areas, similar to ski tourism destinations, are the first to suffer the consequences of climate change. As a measure, I would immediately think that waste separation, careful handling of waste and especially plastic avoidance are important. As a hotel, you could think about avoiding plastic waste - a particularly sensitive topic, but with the media attention of garbage islands certainly associated with partial acceptance of the guests.
The second point, in my opinion, would be the preservation of the cultural and ecological heritage - i.e. raising awareness, educating guests and possibly establishing eco-sanctuaries. Or at least a regulation of the masses. That would then immediately contribute to the exclusivity that tourists sometimes find so great.
But there is certainly much more that can be done. Here I have found two good articles, in addition perhaps interesting

Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 29. March 2021, 10:42

Thanks, Natascha, for this valuable contributions. Just one comment about this:
Beach tourism is normally the phenomenon of a very complex tourism system: many hotels, marketing, transport, provision...
In consequence, to reach a better degree of sustainability in beach tourism is highly related to a sustainability approach in the destination management. As I mentioned just before in https://tourist.fh-joanneum.at/network/topic/travel-practice-ethics-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-connected-to-undermine-sustainable-tourism/?part=2#postid-33555 , it is a question of politics on different levels.
Of course, a hotel can clean its part of the beach each day, but as long as there is no political strategy to control and reduce plastic ways due to common one-way packing systems, this will be a Sisyphean task. On this example we can see how things in the field of sustainability are connected together - and why conflict management is an indispensable element of sustainable destination management...: You have to coordinate and "unify" many diverging interests...

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 8. April 2021, 13:20

We always come back to political measures - but the environment is of very little importance to politicians. I ask myself how one can make a difference there... sure, if all hoteliers in a beach destination work together and demand a legal change - but will it come so far? What does it need to happen then? A spark, a motivated visionary to help motivate everyone else?

Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 8. April 2021, 22:25

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 8. April 2021, 13:20

We always come back to political measures - but the environment is of very little importance to politicians. I ask myself how one can make a difference there... sure, if all hoteliers in a beach destination work together and demand a legal change - but will it come so far? What does it need to happen then? A spark, a motivated visionary to help motivate everyone else?

I am not that sure about politicians. Certainly, there are those with visions - but those are also fighting against a conservative majority.
The most polititions are kinds of mirrors of their voters. So I am convinced that politicians would be much more ambitious if they would realize a strong turn of their (former) voters: Then they will follow. Example: The Conservatives of Austria are turning more and  more to a right wing-xenophobe direction because of a strong scepticism of their voters against asylum seekers... And they are also much more open to a certain green orientation because their clientele tends more and more to be LOHAS... Politics and voters are a connected, communicating system...

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 11. April 2021, 15:53

Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 8. April 2021, 22:25

Quote from Natascha Dockal on 8. April 2021, 13:20

We always come back to political measures - but the environment is of very little importance to politicians. I ask myself how one can make a difference there... sure, if all hoteliers in a beach destination work together and demand a legal change - but will it come so far? What does it need to happen then? A spark, a motivated visionary to help motivate everyone else?

I am not that sure about politicians. Certainly, there are those with visions - but those are also fighting against a conservative majority.
The most polititions are kinds of mirrors of their voters. So I am convinced that politicians would be much more ambitious if they would realize a strong turn of their (former) voters: Then they will follow. Example: The Conservatives of Austria are turning more and  more to a right wing-xenophobe direction because of a strong scepticism of their voters against asylum seekers... And they are also much more open to a certain green orientation because their clientele tends more and more to be LOHAS... Politics and voters are a connected, communicating system...

I can well imagine - thank you for your answer. This would mean that the responsibility lies once again with the "small citizen" and that every contribution, no matter how small, contributes to the big picture. Often this is rather the opposite in the collective consciousness - according to the motto "well, what's the point if I do it like this...? politics has to do it".

Quote from James Thompson on 27. February 2024, 2:15

Quote from Harald A. Friedl on 26. March 2021, 11:56

Dear Iza, thanks for your question. I will come back to to with at least some most important rules of thump...
Just for a short recommandation:

Management priorities and carrying capacity at a high-use beach from tourists’ perspectives: A way towards sustainable beach tourism, Marine Policy

Volume 74, December 2016, Pages 213-219

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X16303712

 

Establishing a multi-criteria evaluation structure for tourist beaches in Taiwan: A foundation for sustainable beach tourism

Ocean & Coastal Management

Volume 121, March 2016, Pages 88-96

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569115300880

 

Sustainable beach management and promotion of the local tourist industry: Can blue flags be a good driver of this balance?

Ocean & Coastal Management

Volume 198, 1 December 2020, 105359

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569120302684

 

The implementation of a world-famous tourism ecolabel triggers political support for beach management

Tourism Management Perspectives

Volume 35, July 2020, 100691

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211973620300581  tunnel rush

Does this help?

 

The most detailed reference I have ever seen. Very helpful.