Bathing season started in Albufeira with the problem of Praia do Inatel «minimized»

The bathing season in Albufeira started this Wednesday, with the council «prepared» to receive the many tourists who, during the summer, choose this city for their holidays. The opening ceremony of the bathing season took place at Praia do Inatel which, in July of last year, was forbidden to baths, due to rain and residual discharges, which affected water quality.

A problem that has not been resolved but has been "minimized", said José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, to the Sul Informação.

«We have works in progress with Inatel. This is a place where, when it rains a lot, runoffs are created that carry debris into the water. This leads to the placement of a yellow flag, which is not good. However, a first phase of the works has already been completed – the second starts in October – so that the impact of the rains can be mitigated».

The mayor believes that, thanks to the works, if there is heavy rain, "this year there will be much fewer occurrences than last year."

On the economic side, the prospects for the county, in this bathing season, are “good, according to experts in the field. Easter was interesting in terms of tourist occupation, despite the problems that arose with the issue of time and fuel. And, for the summer, we also expect good results, despite knowing that, now, reservations are made almost on sight. People know, from today to tomorrow, what time it will be. If it rains, they no longer come. If it doesn't rain, here they are. At other times, appointments were made a month in advance. Now it's a little different, but that won't be a problem», believes the mayor.

The bathing season is a time of leisure, but in his speech, José Carlos Rolo did not forget the dangers associated with the use of beaches: «safety is fundamental, but so is health, with careful exposure to the sun. We are aware of and hear every day the harm that exaggerated exposure to the sun brings to human beings. We also have the issue of the safety of the cliffs. There have been endless warnings made and placed, so that people do not approach and do not stay in dangerous places, putting their lives at risk. We do not want to repeat cases like the one in Praia Maria Luísa».

In a municipality that has 25 beaches, all of them with the Blue Flag, the mayor also highlighted the environmental factor. “We call on bathers to put their garbage in containers. There will always be consumption of food and drinks on the beaches, but there has to be education so that people feel that they have to preserve the environment and quality on the beaches».

So that the warnings left by José Carlos Rolo were not forgotten, this Wednesday morning, there were actions to raise awareness about cliffs and sun exposure by the Municipal Civil Protection Service and by the Health Center of Albufeira, a simulacrum of drowning, and also a cleaning action carried out on a 100-meter stretch of Praia do Inatel.

Attending all this were students from the Basic and Secondary School of Albufeira and also 90 children from the Búzio Kindergarten.

The international association Make It Better, which intervenes in the area of accessible tourism, and which participated in the organization of a seminar on accessible tourism that took place last Monday at the University of Algarve, was also represented at the ceremony.