Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Korea.
Grupo de Investigación en Sistemas Costeros, Playas Corporacion, Calle 19 8-44, Santa Marta 050022, Colombia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Oct 6;17(19):7288. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197288.
The strict quarantine measures employed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic have led the global tourism industry to a complete halt, disrupting the livelihoods of millions. The economic importance of beach tourism for many destinations has led many governments to reopen tourist beaches, as soon as the number of infection cases decreased. The objective of this paper is to provide a scientific basis for understanding the key issues for beach tourism management in these circumstances. These issues include risk perception, environmental considerations directly related to beaches and COVID-19, and management strategies designed to limit the risk of contagion on the beach. The contribution of this paper lies in its interdisciplinary approach to delivering the findings from the latest studies, highly relevant for beach tourism, in psychology, health science, and environmental science (often in preprint and in press format). Particular attention was given to identifying the knowledge gaps evident in the areas of COVID-19 risk perception, with the drivers explaining the risk-taking behavior and the protective strategies employed by beachgoers. Gaps were also found in areas such as the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in bathing waters and the sand, the potential of contaminated sand being a viable route of transmission, and the impact of the use of chemical disinfectants on the marine environment and on bathers. The paper identifies research prospects in these areas, additionally pointing out other questions such as new carrying capacity methods, the opportunity given by COVID-19 in estimation of the impacts of visitation and beach-litter.
由于 COVID-19 大流行而采取的严格隔离措施使全球旅游业完全停滞，数百万人的生计受到影响。海滩旅游对许多目的地的经济重要性，导致许多政府一旦感染病例数量减少，就立即重新开放旅游海滩。本文的目的是为了解决这些情况下海滩旅游管理的关键问题提供科学依据。这些问题包括风险认知、与海滩直接相关的环境问题和旨在限制海滩传染风险的管理策略。本文的贡献在于其跨学科方法，从心理学、健康科学和环境科学（通常以预印本和即将出版的形式）等领域提供了与海滩旅游高度相关的最新研究结果。特别关注的是确定 COVID-19 风险认知领域明显存在的知识差距，以及解释海滩游客冒险行为和采取的保护策略的驱动因素。在沙水中存在 SARS-CoV-2 以及受污染的沙可能成为传播途径的可能性、以及化学消毒剂对海洋环境和游泳者的影响等领域也存在差距。本文确定了这些领域的研究前景，此外还指出了其他问题，如新的承载能力方法、COVID-19 对游客数量和海滩垃圾影响估计的机会。
