Assessing universal accessibility in Spanish beaches

Abstract

Accessible tourism constitutes a current social priority for the World Tourism Organization and the European Network for Accessible Tourism. Trips to the beach are beneficial in terms of improved health and psychological well-being. They form an integral part of life in Spain, a country with the world's second highest number of tourist visitors and more than 3500 beaches. However, Spain does not have a common beach accessibility management policy. In this study, an analysis is made of the actual universal accessibility conditions of a selected sample of Spanish urban and semi-urban beaches which have received the most widely recognized quality certificates/awards for beaches: UNE 170001 Universal Accessibility Certification, Blue Flag, Blue Flag – Inclusive Beach, and Q for Quality Tourism. Beach evaluation was made through the development of a Beach Accessibility Index (BAI) on the basis of three categories: Equipment and infrastructures, Services, and Management. The main results indicate that Spanish beaches have universal accessibility needs that require improvement, with Management the most precarious aspect. None of the certificates/awards guarantee minimum universal accessibility conditions, although the best results were obtained for the UNE 170001 Universal Accessibility Certification. While examples of good practice do exist at local level, the results clearly suggest that a national approach is needed to standardize accessibility criteria.