What is Beach Tourism? Mention the prerequisites for a beach to be considered for development as a beach resort?

Beach Tourism.

Beach tourism is the major segment of holiday tourism that has led to an overall development of tourism in many parts of the world. Each year during the months of mellow sunshine and warm winter, thousands of tourists throng the famous beaches of the world. Beach tourism utilizes the aesthetic and environmental values of the beach. It also combines water and land resources usage. Water usage swimming, surfing, sailing and other water sports.

Land use activities incorporate construction of different types of accommodation such as hotels cottages, villas, camping sites, trailer parts etc, recreational areas such as play grounds, club activities, amusement parks etc, car and bus parking areas, entertainment and shopping access, roads and transportation network. Other activities may include visits to tourist attractions in the vicinity of beach areas.

To develop a beach into a beach resort certain prerequisites has to be met. Most of these are applicable in the case of an island resort also.

The beach and offshore water condition must be of a sufficiently high quality, so that people may enjoy full and best use of these resources for sunbathing, bathing, swimming and other forms of water recreation.

The beach should shelf gently into the water to allow safe entry and exit from the surf. The water should be clean, warm and free from any strong back-flow to offer safe water sport activities besides swimming and bathing.

The beach must be of sufficient size to accommodate large number of people without congestion and crowding.

The beach should have sufficient sand which is usually attractive in color, pleasant to touch and generally clean from rocks, corals and debris.

The resort should have scenic beauty with emphasis on nature and a moral natural character.

The resort should be attractive e.g. it may have more of rural setting which is conducive for leisure and relaxation than the congested, setting of urban centers.

It should express a sense of unique overall environment and character that sets it apart from other competitive tourism destinations particularly leisure tourism activities.

The climate of beach resort should allow for use the beach and outdoor recreation facilities for a major portion of the year. An ideal resort climate would be characterized by a high portion of sunny days, warm temperature, low humidity and constant breeze.

The beach resort destination should be conveniently accessible to relatively large number of visitors by air and other modes of transportation.

The resort should also be preferably connected by direct and scenic road connecting to the airport, population centers and other places of tourist interests.

The resort should have proper drinking water supply, electricity, sewage system, drainage system and effective communication system.

The resort site must be of adequate size for future development.

Regular supply of electricity is a must, also maintenance of metal surfaces of electric appliances as they get corroded due to the salt in the air.

Sufficient number of well trained life guards are a must and along with this a high degree of vigilance is also needed in a resort. As there are casual visitors who also drop into the beach resorts, proper security arrangements are needed since the beach can never be fully fenced.

There may be provision for adventure sports, indoor games entertainment and bar, yoga also.