Visitors’ perception, coastal scenery quality and tourism profitability on sandy beaches - Southeastern Brazil

Unmanaged coastal tourism threatens beach ecosystems across many tropical coastlines. Using 540 questionnaires from beaches in southeastern Brazilian beaches, we evaluated the relationships among visitors’ perceptions, coastal scenery quality, and tourism profitability under scenarios of overcrowding and solid-waste pollution. The study covered nine beaches in the states of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Espírito Santo (ES), across three mesoregions with varying tourism potential (local, regional, and national/international). Visitors overestimated coastal scenery quality by 30 % compared to expert evaluations, especially on nationally famous beaches in Rio de Janeiro such as Praia Grande and João Fernandes. Overall, beachgoers showed more tolerance for overcrowding (51 % would still visit under the worst overcrowding scenario – 5 m² per person) than for pollution (70 % would avoid the beach with the worst solid waste scenario – 15 items per m²). Most were willing to change plans when faced with degraded settings. On locally attractive beaches, 74 % would consider changing to another regional destination, whereas on nationally attractive ones, 55 % would opt for a nearby site within the same municipality. Estimated municipal revenue losses from tourist displacement could reach US$ 52 million per summer season in Praia Grande-RJ, located in the Região dos Lagos mesoregion. These findings underscore the socio-ecological value of beaches and the need for integrated management. Although recreational preferences may conflict with conservation goals, tourism influenced by social media presents an opportunity to support coastal management and foster environmental awareness among visitors. • Beach visitor perception enriches expert technical assessments. • Beach quality perception is shaped by beach popularity. • Popular beaches show lower visitor displacement under quality loss. • Optimistic visitor perceptions may mask actual environmental impacts. • Increased litter and human crowding lead to economic losses of up to US$ 52 million.