Spain Still Ranked Top In World For Blue Beach Flags

SPAIN is still ranked top in the world for the most blue beach flags with 713 across the country, a title it has held since 1994.

Spain is still ranked top in the world for the most blue beach flags with 713 across the country on beaches, ports and tourist boats, as reported by 20 Minutos. There are 615 on beaches, 96 for ports and two for tourist boats. Spain has held this title since 1994.

The blue flag is prestigious for coastal places and their environmental commitment and excellence. Spain had 688 flags in 2020 with 589 of them on beaches.

Spain regained nearly all of its blue flags in 2020 that it had lost in 2019, with 589 flying the distinction and leading the world rankings ahead of Italy, Greece, France, Turkey and Portugal.

With these numbers, Spain breaks its own record on blue flags, which have increased despite the considerable effort that the municipalities have made to maintain the budgets that are allocated to the excellence of its coasts, with reduced funding due to the health crises.

With 615 flag on beaches, this is 25 more than held last year. There are also up to nine inland beaches on the list this year, for example, Playa Dulce de Orellana in Orellana la Vieja and La Dehesa in Cheles, both in Badajoz, and Virgen de la Nueva in San Martín de Valdeiglesias (Madrid); Those of As Pontes (A Coruña) and Ardales (Málaga) have been added.

Malaga Province has been awarded 34 of the blue flags for beaches along the coastline this summer, with a further five obtained by local marinas including Benalmadena, Caleta de Velez (Velez-Málaga), Estepona, La Duquesa (Manilva) and Marbella. The remaining two flags are assigned to sustainable boating in Benalmadena, as reported by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC), exceeding the 30 blue flags achieved in 2020.