Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment
The recreational waters of hotels are widely used by locals and travelers all around the world, and this impacts public health. In this regard, the WHO frequently offers recommendations—especially during the COVID-19 era—that operators and managers of public pools, hot tubs, or splash pads should co...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Antonios Papadakis Dimosthenis Chochlakis Eleftherios Koufakis Vilelmine Carayanni Anna Psaroulaki |
| author_facet | Antonios Papadakis Dimosthenis Chochlakis Eleftherios Koufakis Vilelmine Carayanni Anna Psaroulaki |
| author_sort | Antonios Papadakis |
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| description | The recreational waters of hotels are widely used by locals and travelers all around the world, and this impacts public health. In this regard, the WHO frequently offers recommendations—especially during the COVID-19 era—that operators and managers of public pools, hot tubs, or splash pads should continue to follow. This study aims to evaluate the microbiological results of COVID-19 sanitation protocols in recreational waters in hotels during the summer periods post-COVID-19 (2020–2022) and compare them with those pre-COVID-19 (2019). Of the samples tested during the pre-pandemic period, less than 1/5 were positive for <i>total coliforms, common aerobic bacteria</i>, and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, while less than 3% of the samples tested were positive for <i>E. coli</i>. During the pandemic years, the percentages dropped by half for <i>total coliforms</i>, <i>common aerobic bacteria,</i> and <i>E. coli</i>, while only the percentage for <i>P. aeruginosa</i> remained the same. The relative risk (RR) for the presence of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> in recreational waters was greatly affected by chlorine levels, pH values, and water temperature. Our results elucidate the impact of sanitation protocols on the safety of recreational waters in hotels during public health crises. Moreover, the challenges operators face in maintaining long-term implementation of these protocols are highlighted, which in turn dictates the appropriate choice of preventive and applicable measures to ensure health and safety. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-36aa69c89045447f9e5c29fa1228fd45 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
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| series | Tourism and Hospitality |
| spelling | doaj-art-36aa69c89045447f9e5c29fa1228fd452024-12-27T14:56:29ZengMDPI AGTourism and Hospitality2673-57682024-11-01541167118110.3390/tourhosp5040065Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic EnvironmentAntonios Papadakis0Dimosthenis Chochlakis1Eleftherios Koufakis2Vilelmine Carayanni3Anna Psaroulaki4Department of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Voutes—Staurakia, 71110 Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Voutes—Staurakia, 71110 Heraklion, GreeceCivil Protection of the Region of Crete, 71201 Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Tourism Management, School of Administrative, Economics and Social Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Voutes—Staurakia, 71110 Heraklion, GreeceThe recreational waters of hotels are widely used by locals and travelers all around the world, and this impacts public health. In this regard, the WHO frequently offers recommendations—especially during the COVID-19 era—that operators and managers of public pools, hot tubs, or splash pads should continue to follow. This study aims to evaluate the microbiological results of COVID-19 sanitation protocols in recreational waters in hotels during the summer periods post-COVID-19 (2020–2022) and compare them with those pre-COVID-19 (2019). Of the samples tested during the pre-pandemic period, less than 1/5 were positive for <i>total coliforms, common aerobic bacteria</i>, and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, while less than 3% of the samples tested were positive for <i>E. coli</i>. During the pandemic years, the percentages dropped by half for <i>total coliforms</i>, <i>common aerobic bacteria,</i> and <i>E. coli</i>, while only the percentage for <i>P. aeruginosa</i> remained the same. The relative risk (RR) for the presence of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> in recreational waters was greatly affected by chlorine levels, pH values, and water temperature. Our results elucidate the impact of sanitation protocols on the safety of recreational waters in hotels during public health crises. Moreover, the challenges operators face in maintaining long-term implementation of these protocols are highlighted, which in turn dictates the appropriate choice of preventive and applicable measures to ensure health and safety.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/5/4/65hotelsrecreational watersCOVID-19health protocolsswimming poolstotal microbial flora |
| spellingShingle | Antonios Papadakis Dimosthenis Chochlakis Eleftherios Koufakis Vilelmine Carayanni Anna Psaroulaki Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment Tourism and Hospitality hotels recreational waters COVID-19 health protocols swimming pools total microbial flora |
| title | Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment |
| title_full | Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment |
| title_fullStr | Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment |
| title_short | Recreational Water Safety in Hotels: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Way Forward for a Safe Aquatic Environment |
| title_sort | recreational water safety in hotels lessons from the covid 19 pandemic and the way forward for a safe aquatic environment |
| topic | hotels recreational waters COVID-19 health protocols swimming pools total microbial flora |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/5/4/65 |
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