To understand these elements, it is important to recognise
that the perceptions of beach users vary from beach to beach
and from country to country. For example, MacLeod, da Silva,
and Cooper (2002) found that beach users’ perceptions of rural
beaches in Ireland and Portugal are significantly different,
particularly in the way beaches are used and valued, and that
these views are also significantly different from those of beach
users in more tourism-oriented areas, where beach users may
be fromother countries and not fromlocal populations (who are
more likely to use rural beaches).