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Frisky Tourists Ruining Spanish Beach’s Extremely Rare Sand Dunes By Using Them As ‘Sex Spots,’ Researchers Say

Kira Mautone Contributor
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Coastal dunes on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, known for being one of the top attractions on the island, are being negatively impacted due to the prolific sexual escapades by tourists visiting the dunes.

Researchers have cataloged 298 different “sex spots” that vacationers have used on the beach. These sex locations were primarily found among “bushy and dense vegetation” and nebkhas, which are dunes that wad up around vegetation, reported CNN.

The Dunas de Maspalomas Special Nature Reserve, 5 square kilometers of dunes, have been under legal protection since 1982, and is one of the only remaining shifting dune systems in Europe, according to the outlet. The dunes are used by migrating birds as a resting spot between Africa and Europe.

MASPALOMAS, SPAIN - DECEMBER 04: Vegetation grows in the sand dunes on December 04, 2020 in Maspalomas, Spain. The dunes at Maspalomas have seen a positive transformation during the Coronavirus pandemic due to the lack of tourism on the Island. Conservation efforts over several years to restore the natural habitat have had a boost due to the lack of disturbance, as many of the dunes have regained their shape and height, and vegetation has started to recover. The area which is a site of special scientific interest and a nature reserve is, according to scientists, losing sand at a rate of 45,000 cubic metres per year, and has seen dunes shrinking by several metres over the last 60 years. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

MASPALOMAS, SPAIN – DECEMBER 04: Vegetation grows in the sand dunes on December 04, 2020 in Maspalomas, Spain. The dunes at Maspalomas have seen a positive transformation during the Coronavirus pandemic due to the lack of tourism on the Island. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Researchers conducted and published a study in the Journal of Environmental Management titled, “Sand, Sun, Sea and Sex with Strangers, the ‘five S’s. Characterizing ‘cruising’ activity and its environmental impacts on a protected coastal dunefield.” The concept of “cruising” refers to the practice of anonymous sexual relations, primarily amongst homosexuals, in both open and closed public areas. Coastal dunes were an example of open spaces where this type of behavior occurred in abundance.

Gran Canaria hosts nearly 14 million travelers a year and is a gay-friendly tourist location, with many of its visitors coming from the US, UK and Germany, according to CNN. However, the researchers made clear in their study that there was “no intention to criticize the actions of some of the LGBTI community.”

The study relayed how few have addressed the topic regarding the kinds of consequences these repeated sexual encounters can have on the natural environment, especially when they take place in protected spaces. The researchers discovered that the distribution of sex spots was related to the distance to authorized paths in the protected areas, as well as the presence of dense vegetation and stabilized aeolian landforms. (RELATED: Couple Arrested For Allegedly Having Sex On Myrtle Beach Skywheel)

Essentially, the larger the sex spot was, the more people that made use of it, leading to a greater amount of waste. Tourists have heavily trampled over vegetation to create these sex “nests,” leaving in their wake a myriad of waste products including cigarettes, condoms, toilet paper, wipes and more, according to CNN. These tourists’ sexual activities have directly impacted the nebkhas as well as 8 native plants species, 3 of which are endemic.

Animals have also suffered from these prolific sexual occurrences. Gran Canary giant lizards, which usually eat jellyfish, have died from eating condoms left behind by frisky frolickers, according to The Conversation.

Professor Patrick Hesp, one of the researchers behind this study, said “We’re not calling for an end to public sex — but we do want people to be aware of the damage it can do,” according to CNN. “No matter what the human activity, popular coastal tourist locations need to closely monitor ecology and erosion trends,” said Hesp, reported The New York Post.