Spain is world leader for blue-flagged beaches...again
Friday, May 17, 2024 @ 8:46 AM
ONCE again, Spain holds more blue flags for its beaches and marinas than any other country in the world – a record it has held without interruption for 30 years.
This year, following the official blue-flag awarding procedure, Spain's beaches hold a total of 638 of these prestigious kitemarks – 11 more than in 2023 – with the east-coast province of Alicante boasting the highest number.
La Fossa beach in Calpe, Alicante province – one of just seven in Spain that has held a blue flag non-stop since 1987 (photo: Calpe tourism board)
Another 102 blue flags went to leisure ports – every single applicant in this category - and seven to tour boats.
Following a trend that began to take off two years ago, a growing number of inland beaches have been applying for – and earning – blue flags, with 11 of these in the land-locked western region of Extremadura, whose nearest sea coast is in Portugal.
The newest inland beach entry is for Lerate Bay in Guesalez, Navarra, a single-province region that does not have a coast.
In fact, despite only eight of the 15 regions in mainland Spain having a sea shore, a total of 11 now have blue-flagged beaches – only Castilla y León and Castilla-La Mancha, in the centre of the country, and Aragón and La Rioja in the north, currently have none.
Spain accounts for 15% of blue-flagged beaches on earth, and has consistently beaten every other country since 1994, with Greece and Turkey second and third.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com