It will be a heaven ... and a war zone.

If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization - Ludwig von Mises

One news caught my attention this week in Brazil. Have you ever thought about the value of a beach? Well, that was exactly what El País < http://bit.ly/2GuuFn5 > was asking their readers to do. You also should take a pause and reflect about it.

Accordingly to the current legislation, all beaches in Brazil are public and a Federal asset nevertheless, this reality is just about to change. An ordinance of President Michel Temer has changed the 'status quo' and since July 2017, municipalities can take the ownership of beach management. This very simple change in legislation will turn beaches into heaven and a war zone.

THE CHANGE

Brazilian beaches belongs to the Union (Federal Government) so it naturally held the responsibility to manage the trade and the private use of the territory of the country border through the Secretariat of the Patrimony of the Union (SPU). For example, if an event or a show was held in a beach, the municipality had to have authorization from SPU and pay a space use fee to the Federal Government. After the ordinance, not anymore. No surprise that over 60 municipalities have already applied to manage their own beaches. São Paulo (9) and Santa Catarina (8) States are leading this rush followed by Rio Grande do Sul (7), Ceará (7) and Bahia (6).

THE POTENTIAL

Brazil hold over 7.350 km in beaches and the tourist potential in some spots in shore are a multi million dollar business. Take Recife for example, in 2017 the municipality reached 7,8 million visitors < http://bit.ly/2q3C3Lb > and considering that in 2014 - with FIFA World Cup - Recife registered 7,2 million visitors, it's clear that the municipality is in the right direction. Specially when considering that a expressive gain of visitors came from foreigners tourists from Europe!

NEXT EXPECTED MOVES

I believe municipalities will take control of their beaches and promote a kind of 'privatization to the brands'. The deal will be pretty simple, brands will be in charge of exploring the space - trade, shows, advertising, etc - and to preserve the environment in exchange of a fixed fee or a share in the revenues with the municipality.

Visionary brands will take the opportunity to create a unique experience space in these beaches, what I call heaven. I can imagine a well organized and safe parking lots - perhaps even with a valet. The trendy lounge space fulfilled with chairs, tables, lounges and beach tents will be the standard. All heavily branded of course. A chill or drum&bass music will fulfill the space. Cold beverages and healthy-tasty foods will be served by well trained waitress. A cold shower to clean the sand before leaving the beach will be another standard. Brands will keep the sand white and clean for the next party day. I can envision the rising of a new profession: Beach Manager.

This architecture will allow a unique experience with one brand - or a set of brands - so, the brands left out of the party will turn this area into a war zone; desperately fighting to be part of the party. So regardless the applied regime, beaches are just about to become a heaven and a war zone.

Foodforthought

LE