Balearics loses 17 of its prized blue flags

Majorca has 31 blue flags on its beaches and 16 in its ports; Ibiza 11 and 2; Minorca 5 and 2; whilst Formentera has just one blue flag in the Puerto de la Marina.

The blue flag is an internationally recognised, European driven project which awards the maintenance of pre-established standards related to water quality, accessibility for those with mobility difficulties and the provision of environmental legislation and recommendations for users.

In Palma there are five blue flags on the beaches of Cala Major, Can Pere Antoni, Ciutat Jardi, Cala Estancia and El Arenal. The municipality which lays claim to the most blue flags is Calvia with a total of eight on its beaches at Palmanova, Oratori, Santa Ponsa, Palmira, Torá, Romana, Es Carregador and Son Maties.

Spain is currently flying a total of 638 blue flags (540 on its beaches and 98 in its ports and marinas.) The country as a whole is doing rather better than the Balearics having added 35 flags to the 603 it flew in 2011.

Galicia has 143 blue flags, Valencia (120), Catalonia (111), Andalusia (93), the Balearics (68), the Canary Islands (45), Murcia (28), and Asturias (20).

This incomparable result comes on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the blue flag as an international environmental award for quality in tourism. It also means that of the 3'774 blue flags flying anywhere in Europe, one in six of them is in Spain, José R. Sanchez, the President of the Environmental Education and Consumer Association (Adeac) which assesses eligibility for the flags claimed yesterday.

With 540 of its beaches flying blue flags, Spain maintains its world lead, followed at a considerable distance by Greece (394), France (358), Turkey (335), Portugal (275),Denmark (253) and Italy (247).

The President of Adeac said that the high number of blue flags on Spanish beaches and marinas is the result of effort being made at a local level to improve and diversify services, but added“although it is not a reflection of the state of the Spanish coastline.” He said that environmental quality “is not spread out evenly and that there are areas of virgin coastline, for example around the island of Formentera in the Balearics, which merit a blue flag for cleanliness and water quality, but do not have the pre-requisite services of lifeguards and facilities for the handicapped.” Secretary of State for Tourism Isabel Borego insisted yesterday that Spain's coastline is the key attraction in the country's tourist industry.