Airbnb urges swim safety

LOCAL Surf Life Saving Clubs are praising an online Airbnb initiative to educate tourists about beach safety when booking a coastal holiday.

Homeshare platform Airbnb this week announced it would partner with Crime Stoppers, Surf Life Saving Australia, Kidsafe and the Centre for internet Safety to launch a new safety hub.

The hub includes a range of expert tips for hosts and guests about pool and beach safety.

Anglesea Surf Life Saving president Tom Cullen praised the initiative, saying it was a step in the right direction to educate tourists and visitors to potential beach hazards.

“The more communication and education, particularly for people who haven’t grown up around the coast or water, the better,” he said.

“Increasingly across the Surf Coast there’s more tourists and visitors that are visiting for the first time and they don’t understand what clothing to wear.”

Mr Cullen said he had seen people wearing inappropriate clothing such as jeans in the water, which was heavy and could weigh swimmers down.

A Beachsafe analysis by Surf Life Saving Australia found the Point Lonsdale back beach was the most notorious on the coast, along with Demons Bluff in Anglesea.

Both are rated “highly hazardous”.

The data revealed 29 people drowned in Geelong, Surf Coast and Queenscliff waters in the 10 years to summer 2018, while 67 people were taken to hospital.

Mr Cullen said there were opportunities for all tourism providers, including rental car operators, to promote beach safety messages to visitors.

“Often people will not be aware of underlying rip currents and dangerous places so there’s still the importance of looking at signage,” he said.

“It’s not about scaring people but how can we encourage people to have a great experience when they’re down the coast so that they tell other people and come back.”

Airbnb’s head of public policy for Asia Pacific, Brent Thomas, said while travel would always come with a degree of risk, the organisation was constantly working to make the platform safer.

With beach locations being among the most popular Airbnb destinations, Surf Life Saving Australia national coastal risk and safety manager Shane Daw said it was vital people acted with caution when entering the water.

“Whether you’re a guest visiting Australia for the first time, or a host who has lived by the beach your entire life, there are a number of things to look out for when you’re heading to the beach,” he said. “Importantly where possible swim at a patrolled beach, between the red and yellow flags.”