Smart beaches: A commitment to Sustainable Tourism

The rise of smart cities is changing urbanization processes and the sustainable models companies and organizations are pursuing. This paradigm is providing the tourism sector with a new range of business opportunities and new ways of creating value.

A few months ago we talked about the keys to smart tourism as the sector’s future in another post and today we will focus on how technology is remodeling a space as summery as beaches.

Smart Beaches

A smart beach can be defined as a tourist resource where technology is applied to make it a more sustainable, safe, and accessible space. It condenses information flows from users to detect their needs and respect the environment.

Measurement, sensorisation, connectivity, and analytical technologies enable this knowledge to be generated from the data collected, which can benefit the destination’s management and economic agents.

The pillars of smart beaches are three:

• Sustainability: technology helps to meet the SDG goals, helping to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.
• Accessibility: one of the points to improve on today’s beaches is physical accessibility to beach equipment and facilities. And, on the other hand, guaranteeing digital accessibility to services.
• Safety: the focus is on considering the potential risks that may affect health, as well as the risks derived from the natural environment itself. In addition, other factors such as traffic, crossings, parking areas, etc. can also be taken into account.

Digitalised beaches

Modernizing beaches through technology is in the early stages of implementation, but the possibilities are endless. IoT solutions can digitize these bathing and recreational areas, enabling the measurement of environmental and bathing water quality parameters, better management and cleanliness, and more.

The following are the most important use cases that can be achieved with smart beaches.

Natural factors

There are IoT devices that measure different environmental factors such as air quality, gases, and particles; meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity, wind, rain, and solar radiation; or other factors such as noise level.

Thanks to such solutions, the impact of pollution can be measured and assessed, and measures can be taken to achieve the best possible environmental quality.

Water Quality

The state of the seawater is a very important factor for the living beings that live there and for the humans that bathe in that water.

We can already see smart buoys that have sensors inside them that allow water variables to be recorded and monitored continuously, to inform users, and improve tourism and environmental management. In this way, the state of the bathing water can be monitored to prevent damage caused by boats or the use of chemical substances.

Capacity Control

The busiest months can be a major problem when it comes to guaranteeing people’s safety in the event of an emergency.

With technological solutions that control the capacity through the use of cameras using artificial vision algorithms, information can be obtained about the real occupancy level, its distribution by time slots, the flow of entrances and exits, etc., and thus preserve the quality of their experience.

Waste Management

Good beach cleanliness is one of the keys to preserving the environment, but with mass influx, it can be a headache.

The condition of litter bins and polluting objects can be monitored by installing wireless devices, optimizing litter collection, and making early detection of incidents possible.

Interactive information points

The implementation of tactile information points with interactive content is a way to enhance the tourist experience, giving the possibility to create customizable plans that can be downloaded online, digital street maps, events calendars, etc.

Examples of Smart Beaches

The implementation of connected, smarter, and more environmentally friendly tourism has already started and we can see real examples of environments that implemented it a few months ago. Here are some examples.

Ibiza

Ibiza is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain, but it is also home to numerous floral, fauna, and marine resources. For this reason, a video surveillance system has been put in place that can calculate occupancy levels on the island’s most popular beaches.

Thanks to IP cameras with 4G connectivity and sensors that can detect movement from a great distance, the public can access in real time the occupancy of each of them, as well as parking spaces.

By being able to monitor the number of people visiting the beaches, local authorities will be able to better protect wildlife and the environment, while tourists and locals will have a better experience.

In addition, a second part of the project has been initiated, where marine buoys with sensors can measure water quality and detect and reduce problems caused by the massive anchoring of boats.

Adeje in Tenerife

The town of Adeje has become a smart tourist destination thanks to an urban platform that has placed interactive information points, as well as intelligent management systems that collect data on the number of visitors, water consumption in the showers, or noise levels.

This facilitates the restructuring of municipal services into an integrated model, improving the management of public services and increasing the transparency of information available to citizens and tourists.

Antalya Life Park

On the Konyaalti beach in Turkey, 115 solar posts have been installed to ensure the safety of children, parents, and people with various disabilities.

With this application, elderly people suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer’s, for example, or pets can be tracked according to their location. This is done through bracelets that are handed out at the information point and, when someone leaves the ‘safety circle’, the system goes into alarm and transmits information to the families’ mobile phones via the app.

Dubai Meraas

Plain Concepts developed a tool that provides an automated system for processing and uploading panoramic photos and videos so that visitors can access a 360º view of the city.

Dubai Meraas has helped to raise the visibility of the city, create a positive impact on the city’s image, and help promote tourism.

Future of beaches and tourism

Beaches and smart tourism are alternatives to traditional models that will gain more and more strength thanks to the benefits they bring in terms of environmental quality, safety, accessibility, and improved tourist experience.

These types of solutions will create a more sustainable, efficient, and attractive environment, which translates into greater tourism and economic development of coastal areas.

Plain Concepts implements innovative solutions for all types of sectors such as tourism. Our AI, XR, and Research services offer tourism companies the opportunity to optimize their resources, improve the customer experience, and achieve a higher level of competitiveness. Are you joining the new wave of innovation?