Spain: 603 of the Best Beaches and Marinas in the World
May 27th, 2011
Spain has won 603 ‘blue flags’ in 2011 (511 for beaches and 92 for marinas), maintaining their lead over the 36 countries participating in the Northern Hemisphere, which means that one of every six flags of the total 3554 awarded, will fly in Spain.
The President of the Association of Environmental and Consumer Education (FEE ADEAC) noted that although Spain received two flags less than in 2010, having lost ten merits for mainland beaches, this was compensated for by adding another eight marinas to the Spanish list, which he said were “very good results” and that the beaches “are better than ever”.
The Blue Flag is an international award that recognises compliance with established standards such as accessibility, water quality, environmental information or respect for the law.
“The coast is the main asset of Spanish tourism,” said the Secretary General of Tourism and Domestic Trade, Joan Mesquida, who commented that, since 2010, 82% of total tourist spending in Spain was recorded in the islands and in coastal areas of the country.
In addition, Mesquida reported that 83% of foreign visitors came to Spain last year for a ‘sun and beach’ holiday, the same option chosen by half of the Spanish during their time off.
By region, Galicia is in the lead with 130 blue flags (117 beaches and 13 marinas), followed by Valencia with 116 flags (104 beaches and 12 marinas), Catalonia with 108 flags (86 beaches and 22 marinas), and the Balearic Islands with 85 awards (63 beaches and 22 marinas).
Andalucia comes fifth in the rankings with 81 flags (66 beaches and 15 marinas), followed by the Canary Islands with 38 flags (35 beaches and 3 marinas) and Asturias, which received 18 flags (17 beaches and 1 marina).
Andalucía came first for most kilometres of blue flag beaches with 112.2 km, followed by Valencia (107.1 km), Catalonia (83.4 km), Galicia (35.1 km), Balearic Islands (22 km), Canary Islands (11.9 km) and Murcia (6.3 km).
AEDAC’s President urged municipalities to continue their good work in the campaign, as ‘sun and beach’ tourism is a major asset for Spanish tourism as a whole.
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