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The Los Cabos council is asking for cooperation in broadcasting information about the limited capacity at the popular Balandra beach. Due to public safety, the beach will not be as accessible as many think.
During a public session of a Los Cabos council meeting, the subject of beach capacity came up for the holiday week. The main concern was that the public might not know there are capacity limits at area beaches, including one of the most popular Balandra beaches.
Officials asked the hotel and tourism industry be more vocal in alerting tourists about the capacity and visiting hours for Balandra beach in the municipality of La Paz. Officials believe this is important because 80% of beachgoers who arrive at the La Paz coast come from Los Cabos.
Councilmember Rodrigo Roberto Jimenez stated at the meeting, “ I want to make the request for the director of the Balandra Protected Area director known. He asks for support from the Tourism and Hotel Association of Los Cabos to inform local and international tourists that Balandra beach has a restriction of 800 people a day divided into two shifts. The first shift is from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, while the second shift is 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
The problem arises from the fact that 80% of visitors to Balandra beach come from Los Cabos. Council members are concerned the restrictions and time slots put in place are not reaching tourists making their way to the beach. Jimenez followed up, “ we don’t want tourists coming from Los Cabos, unaware they may not be able to spend time at the beach because of these restrictions. If the message doesn’t reach them until they are at Balandra, this will ruin their trip.”
The use of field stations
Another system being used to control crowds is field stations. These will organize the groups and limit the number of people allowed. They will use them to make sure tourists are not trespassing into the protected natural area of Balandra. There will also be a ban on camping for the week.
The reason for limited visitors to the beach
Amid the larger crowds over the last couple of months, one concern that has remained is public safety. While Covid 19 numbers have gone down drastically from the last variant, local officials don’t want to risk a backslide in numbers. Putting restrictions on the number of tourists to the beach at any given time will hopefully promote social distancing and keep everyone healthy.
Tourism effect
The restrictions put in place on the number of visitors to Balandra beach underscore the need for visitors to be prepared. Among the many things the pandemic taught us, one of them was being able to adapt to changing circumstances. When going to visit Los Cabos or any location, specifically internationally, knowing rules and regulations ahead of time is key.
For Los Cabos, the need to communicate with travelers about what’s available for entertainment when they visit is obvious. The Los Cabos area wants visitors to have a positive experience. Finding out their plans need to change last minute can ruin a trip for some tourists.
Having departing tourists leave positive experiences ensures good word of mouth and a high chance of a return visit. This formula will keep the tourism economy growing and all of Los Cabos reaping the benefits.
