A REVIEW OF BEACH QUALITY RATING SYSTEMS

Beach is attracting more attention as a kind of valuable tourism resources. Research work on beach quality rating has started abroad much earlier. Up to date there are different beach rating systems, among which Blue Flag is widely adopted around the world.China is rich in beach resources. However, beach quality rating system remains in an initial stage. Only a few beaches have been rated with different rating factors, most of which was established by researchers themselves. By summarizing the used beach quality rating systems around the world and the experiences accumulated at home, we discussed the rating factors used for beach quality rating in China at present. It is a urgent need to establish a beach quality rating system in accordance with the situation of our country and in full consideration of the use of a beach and its sedimentary characteristics for both urban and rural beaches.According to previous study and field work,we selected 20 and 15 rating factors from various physical,environmental and other parameters respectively for resort and rural beaches rating.