Beach-hoggers risk a fine in battle for sun spots on the Costa del Sol
It has long been a tradition of tourists on the Costa del Sol to nip to the beach early in the morning to claim a strip of sand before returning when the sun climbs high.
But when holidaymakers went back to look for their towels as temperatures topped 82F (28C) this week they were met with an empty space − and, in some cases, a fine.
Covid-19 restrictions have meant police and local authorities have been clearing away strategically placed parasols or other sunbathing gear from the beaches as well as enforcing the use of face masks and shutting down busy nightlife areas.
With strict capacity limits on shorelines to allow for social distancing, police in the town of Torrox have handed out 100 fines to sunbathers returning to reclaim their possessions at the resort’s Ferrara beach.
“This year we add the Covid-19 issue as an additional reason to be responsible and not leave those items that occupy a space that for reasons of capacity and distance can be used by others,” a spokesman for Torrox council said.
Malaga’s city council also announced a ban on reserving spaces as well as fines of up to €1,500 (£1,360) for the unauthorised erection of canopy structures.
Some beachgoers, however, feel the police should be doing even more to tackle the problem.
“Many people just close their parasols and leave their things to go off to eat, so no one will take their place,” users of Sagunto beach complained to the newspaper Levante.
Despite Sagunto council having introduced a fine of €150 for leaving equipment unattended, beachgoers claimed “the police are simply looking the other way” as it was disclosed that no fines had been imposed by the start of this week.
Increased demand for space with the return of foreign tourists has seen many beaches forced to close at peak times. Fifteen beaches in Malaga province had to shut temporarily on Sunday to allow for crowds to disperse. Authorities in Peñíscola, north of Valencia, last week started dishing out fines of up to €750 to beachgoers caught leaving their gear on the sand.
From yesterday wearing a face mask became mandatory everywhere outside the home in Andalusia − even on the beach − with a €100 fine for those caught flouting the rules. For everyone above five years of age, the only exceptions are when swimming, engaging in other sporting activities or eating and drinking.
Andalusia joins several other
Spanish regions to introduce a tougher law on face masks, upping the ante on a national rule that states coverings must be worn when the safety distance of 1.5m cannot be maintained.
Alan Carter, a Liverpudlian who spends summers in Gibraltar, said he would not be visiting Spain again this year.
“Don’t disagree with masks, but outdoors?” he posted on Twitter.
In Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, however, people are being allowed to go mask-free on beaches “as long as the crowding level permits interpersonal distancing”.
After drunken scenes of some of the first British tourists to reach the Majorcan resort of Magaluf went viral, the Balearic government announced the closure of bars and clubs on three of the busiest streets for nightlife.
“We cannot tolerate the sort of images we have been seeing over the last few days and we are not going to tolerate it,” said Iago Negueruela, Balearic tourism minister. “If tourists are not prepared to obey these rules then we ask them not to come.”