Locals in the popular Spanish resort town of Benidorm have launched nighttime beach forays against foreign tourists to claim the best spots by the sea. Their competition with visitors causes controversy and conflict, the Daily Star portal warned.
The practice of grabbing sunbeds and umbrellas under the cover of night has become common, especially among some Spaniards who go to the beach at night, set up large umbrellas and sunbeds to occupy comfortable places for sunbathing, then return home and go to bed again. After sleeping, they come to the coast, where a VIP seat awaits them. It turns out that foreign beachgoers, even those who get up early in the morning, do not get to good places.
Photos of the so-called “beach wars” that spread on the Internet became important evidence of the conflict.
The authorities of Benidorm have reacted to the problem and said that they will severely punish beach offenders who try to attack foreign holidaymakers by taking place on the beach. To combat the former, the police were given the power to clean up personal belongings left on the sand to prevent sporting situations.
Monica Gómez, a councilor for beaches and the environment, confirmed that some locals are indeed accustomed to reserving beach spots before dawn, but denied that they were specifically looking to deprive foreign tourists of the best spots. According to her, some of the residents do not return home to sleep after leaving things on the shoreline but go for a walk on the beach in anticipation of the hot sun. “If it is proven that someone threw their umbrella or sunbed, the police have the right to take it away. Usually, things are left on the beach itself, near one of the entry points or the lifeguard tower, she clarified. “Luckily, the beaches in Benidorm are large and comfortable, with excellent facilities, meaning that tourists don’t have to be right on the coastline to enjoy a great day at the beach.”
Such conflicts for places on the beach are not unique to Benidorm and are observed in other resorts as well. Tourists, dissatisfied with this situation, express their displeasure on social networks and share photos and videos, which draws public attention to this problem. Here are some of them:
- Camp de Mar Resort – Mallorca, Spain. Tourist Jeff said on social media that he discovered an unusual line of swimsuits and towels at the entrance to the resort’s pool when he got up at 6:30 in the morning. Vacationers tried to reserve sunbeds despite a ban on the practice.
- Other numerous resorts in Spain. Honest tourists, who count on free sunbeds in the morning, criticized vacationers who get up at 4:00 a.m. to reserve sunbeds.
- Bali, Indonesia. A pair of Australian tourists faced a situation where other guests had reserved the best sunbeds for nine hours. At the same time, cunning vacationers do not even get up for this at night, but leave things in the evening.