The Benidorm City Council have announced the rules introduced for the use of their beaches which include a number of requirements designed to avoid infections and guarantee safety of the general public, which are the main element for tourism in the city, and therefore for the local economy.

They have also made public the sanctions for those who do not comply with the obligations, which could include a fine of 700 euros.

The council has dividing the beach between those areas where payment for beds and umbrellas is required and the free spaces. Within the latter, there are two areas with the plots delimited by a green rope for those over 70 years of age. Those coloured blue are for the rest of bathers.

The elderly will be able to access the remaining areas if they wish. In the case of families or groups with children under 6 years of age, up to five people will be allowed.

Beaches will be open from 9am to 9pm. In the cases of sanctions, the public must enter through and authorised point. A map has been prepared for the ‘new normality’ which incorporates each of the entrances and exits to the sectors and their plots. People must only walk through the corridors and spaces that are clearly marked.

You may only walk along the shore within the sector in which your plot is assigned, in a six-meter space between the sea and the bathers, where people will have to circulate with masks. In addition, games in the sand area, with balls, shovels, mats or the like, are prohibited.

Other play areas accommodating children’s games, biohealth or calisthenics, will also remain closed.

People must also maintain a physical safety distance with other of 1.5 metres.

No one will be allowed on the beaches to sell products or offer massages, common practices every summer in Benidorm, especially in Levante.

They will also be penalised for throwing garbage or leaving any type of object on the sand. The litter bins have been removed on all the beaches “to avoid the risk of contagion,” the official letter states. For this reason, they explain that the “waste generated by groups during their stay on the beaches and coves must be deposited in suitable bags” and removed by the groups themselves.