Beachgoing or beach tourism is the cultural phenomenon of travelling to an ocean beach for leisure or vacation.
The practice developed from medically-prescribed sea-bathing by British physicians in the 17th and 18th centuries and spread throughout Europe and European colonies. With the advent of affordable air travel seaside resorts developed worldwide into the modern tourism phenomenon.
Beachgoing is one of the earliest forms of modern tourism and is a staple of the overall tourism industry.
Seaside resorts have existed since antiquity. In Roman times, the town of Baiae, by the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy, was a resort for those who were sufficiently prosperous. [1] Barcola in northern Italy, with its Roman luxury villas, is considered a special example of ancient leisure culture by the sea. [2] Mersea Island, in Essex, England was a seaside holiday destination for wealthy Romans living in Colchester. [3]
Beaches in 16th-century Europe historically were seen as frightening places where piracy, invasions, and destruction by hurricanes, king tides, and tsunamis were an unpredictable danger. Most seaside and beach communities were fishing villages which regularly lost community members to storms or piracy. Most sailors and other community members were nonswimmers, and losses to drowning were common. Swimming in the ocean itself was seen as dangerous because of the possibility of shark attack. [4] [5] Prior to the 18th century, vacationing at the beach was not a cultural phenomenon. [6] [7] According to The Atlantic , "only peasants sought refuge from the heat in the cool seawater". [7]
Beginning in the 1600s and 1700s, British physicians recommended sea-bathing to promote or restore health. [5] [4] The 1750 essay by Richard Russell, A Dissertation on the Use of Seawater in the Diseases of the Glands, Particularly, the Scurvy, Jaundice, King’s Evil, Leprosy and the Glandular Consumption recommended bathing in the sea and drinking a pint of seawater daily; Russell claimed to have cured a leprosy patient with this treatment "every morning during nine months, without any intervals". [7]
According to Smithsonian sea-bathing was prescribed for people suffering from 'melancholy, rickets, leprosy, gout, impotence, tubercular infections, menstrual problems and “hysteria” ' [4] Travelling to the beach for prescribed short bathes and to drink sea water and breathe "sea air", which was theorized to contain more oxygen, became a habit of affluent people. [5] [6] [7] Bathing machines, operated by bathing attendants, were commonly used to perform the prescribed dips into seawater. [4] [6] Women bathed in bathing costumes; men bathed nude. [7]
As the primary reason for early travel to seaside towns was for a prescribed daily five-minute dip, resorts built up to entertain the affluent visitors for the remaining portion of each day. [5] [7] The first such resort was at Scarborough near York. [4] As travel conditions improved with trains and better roads, less affluent travellers were also able to join in the pastime, resort communities built up in many seaside towns, and the phenomenon spread throughout Europe and European colonies. [5] [6]
A similar progression of events developed in Rio de Janeiro in the 19th and 20th centuries, as therapeutic sea-bathing developed into a place "to see and be seen", with beach culture developing into a defining characteristic of the city. [8]
Paintings of seascapes, a term that was coined around 1800, became more popular. [4] Some tourism was associated with travel to seaside towns to see the subjects of such paintings. [6]
Sea-bathing remained a popular treatment for tuberculosis into the mid-1800s, by which time beachgoing had developed into a leisure activity meant to provide a respite from daily life. [4] [6] [7] Beach tourism is one of the earliest form of modern tourism. [9] Beachgoers, however, were not there for the sun; women typically kept themselves completely covered or used shelters and parasols to protect their skin from tanning. [7]
By the early 1900s, seaside vacations had become a cultural phenomenon in Europe and North America [6] and the therapeutic benefits of sunlight began to be recognized [10] and by 1913 "sunbathing" was referred to as a desirable activity for the leisured class. [11] In the 1920s, after fashion-designer Coco Chanel accidentally got sunburnt while visiting the French Riviera, tanned skin became perceived as fashionable, healthy, and luxurious. [12] [13] [14] Jean Patou capitalized on the new tanning fad, launching the first sun tan oil "Huile de Chaldee" in 1927. [15] In the 1940s, advertisements started appearing in women's magazines which encouraged sunbathing. At the same time, swimsuits' skin coverage began decreasing, with the bikini radically changing swimsuit style after it made its appearance in 1946.[ citation needed ]
In some areas with beaches, hostile architecture was used to keep populations seen as less welcome away; in the 1920s American urban planner Robert Moses designed a stretch of Long Island Southern State Parkway with low stone bridges so that buses could not pass under them. This made it more difficult for people who relied on public transportation, mainly African Americans, to visit the beach that wealthier car-owners could visit. [16] [17] Other areas, particularly in the US, designated certain days of the week during which persons of color or non-Christians were admitted to public beaches or passed parking bans to exclude non-residents. [18] [19] Black Americans developed beach resorts catering to persons of color, such as American Beach, Bethune Beach, Bruce's Beach, Butler Beach, Oak Bluffs, Pacific Beach Club, Paradise Park, and Sag Harbor. As recently as 2020 some areas in the US legally permitted restricting access to public beaches by allowing beach parking areas to be placed long distances from the shore and providing bridge access only to local residents. [20] [21]
As air travel became affordable and common, beachside towns throughout the tropics and subtropics developed seaside resorts to attract tourists. [6] Seaside resorts in temperate climates became less exclusive. [6] Beach tourism developed into one of the staples of the tourism industry. [9]
According to Reader's Digest in 2021 the most-visited beaches in the world are Whitehaven Beach in Australia, Lanikai Beach in Hawaii, Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda, Cayo Coco Beach in Cuba, Bávaro in the Dominican Republic, Boulders Beach in South Africa, Bournemouth in the United Kingdom, Pink Sands Beach in the Bahamas, Ao Nang in Thailand, Playa Paraiso in Mexico, Dreamland Beach in Indonesia, and Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos. [22]
Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms are broadly interchangeable, nudism emphasizes the practice of nudity, whilst naturism highlights an attitude favoring harmony with nature and respect for the environment, into which that practice is integrated. That said, naturists come from a range of philosophical and cultural backgrounds; there is no single naturist ideology.
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells or coralline algae. Sediments settle in different densities and structures, depending on the local wave action and weather, creating different textures, colors and gradients or layers of material.
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations or for particular types of suit, including swimwear, bathing suit, bathing attire, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie, or swimming trunks, besides others.
The Lido, or Venice Lido, is an 11-kilometre-long (7-mile) barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Northern Italy; it is home to about 20,400 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido in late August/early September.
A seaside resort is a city, town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German Seebad. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.
Sun tanning or tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. It is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or from artificial sources, such as a tanning lamp found in indoor tanning beds. People who deliberately tan their skin by exposure to the sun engage in a passive recreational activity of sun bathing. Some people use chemical products that can produce a tanning effect without exposure to ultraviolet radiation, known as sunless tanning.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas and medspas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
Mimizan is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. There are two separate districts of the town: Mimizan-Bourg and Mimizan-Plage (resort).
Sea bathing is swimming in the sea or in sea water and a sea bath is a protective enclosure for sea bathing. Unlike bathing in a swimming pool, which is generally done for pleasure or exercise purposes, sea bathing was once thought to have curative or therapeutic value. It arose from the medieval practice of visiting spas for the beneficial effects of the waters. The practice of sea bathing dates back to the 17th century but became popular in the late 18th century. The development of the first swimsuits dates from the period as does the development of the bathing machine.
Weymouth Beach is a gently curving arc of sand in Weymouth Bay, beside the town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. Immediately adjacent to the beach is The Esplanade.
Palavas-les-Flots is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
North Island is a small granitic island (2.01 km2) in the Seychelles.
Tanning dependence or tanorexia is a syndrome where an individual appears to have a physical or psychological dependence on sunbathing or the use of ultraviolet (UV) tanning beds to darken the complexion of the skin. Compulsive tanning may satisfy the definition of a behavioral addiction as well.
Tourism is one of the Caribbean's major economic sectors, with 25 million visitors contributing $49 billion towards the area's gross domestic product in 2013, which represented 14% of its total GDP. It is often described as, "the most tourism-dependent region in the world".
Medical tourism in Israel is medical tourism in which people travel to Israel for medical treatment, which is emerging as an important destination for medical tourists. In 2006, 15,000 people came to Israel for medical treatment, bringing in $40 million in revenue. In 2010, Israel treated 30,000 medical tourists. The Health Ministry estimates that they inject about NIS 200 million a year into the health system, of which more than NIS 100 million goes to government hospitals. Outside experts put the total much higher, at almost NIS 500 million.
The Albanian Riviera, also popularly known as Bregu, is a coastline along the north-eastern Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing the districts of Sarandë and Vlorë in south-western Albania. It forms an important section of the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast, dotted with the villages of Palasë, Dhërmi, Vuno, Himara, Qeparo, Borsh, Piqeras, Lukovë, and the city of Sarandë.
A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to use the facilities without membership in any movement or subscription to any personal belief. The use of the beach facilities is normally anonymous. Unlike a naturist resort or facility, there is normally no membership or vetting requirement for the use of a nude beach. The use of nude beach facilities is usually casual, not requiring pre-booking. Nude beaches may be official, unofficial, or illegal.
Tourism in Mauritius is an important component of the Mauritian economy as well as a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. The tourism industry is also a major economic pillar on the island of Rodrigues; however, tourism has not been developed in Agaléga Islands. Mauritius is mostly appreciated by tourists for its natural environment and man-made attractions, the multi-ethnic and cultural diversity of the population, the tropical climate, beaches and water sports.
Ada Foah is a town on the southeast coast of Ghana, where the Volta River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The town is located along the Volta River, off of the Accra-Aflao motorway. Known for palm-lined beaches and estuary islands, Ada Foah is also the capital of the Ada East District and the seat of the District Assembly.
Chłapowo is a seaside resort and village in the administrative district of Gmina Władysławowo, within Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies north-west of Władysławowo, approximately 10 km (6 mi) north of Puck, and 50 km (31 mi) north-west of the regional capital Gdańsk. It is located in the ethnocultural region of Kashubia in the historic region of Pomerania on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
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(help):Describing a visit by the Prince of Wales to the pretty town of Sigmaringen the reporter says: ‘The Castle possesses many delightful terraces which could be adapted for sunbathing.’{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)By the 1920s, the therapeutic effect of the sun was widely promoted, and two well-publicized French personalities gave "tanning" a fashion boost. Coco Chanel, of designer fame, returned to Paris after a cruise on the Duke of Westminster's yacht with a tan that became all the rage. And the natural caramel skin color of singer Josephine Baker made women all over the world try to emulate her skin tone.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)In 1920s France, the caramel-skinned entertainer Josephine Baker became a Parisian idol. Concurrently, fashion designer Coco Chanel was "bronzed" while cruising on a yacht. A winter tan became a symbol of the leisure class and showed you could afford to travel to exotic climates.
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