Although the number of Blue Flags for beaches in the Balearics remains unaltered, it might be noted that fifteen were lost in 2016, the highest number among Spain's regions. Three new ones were also awarded.
For 2017 in Majorca specifically, there will be 32 flags for beaches as well as the fourteen for ports. This in fact represents an overall loss. Gone from last year's beaches are Paguera, Santa Ponsa, Ses Penyes Rotges near Port Adriano, Son Moll in Cala Ratjada and Tamarells in Puerto Pollensa. Can Pere Antoni in Palma is one to get the flag back.
The fact is that there has been a declining interest in the Blue Flag among Majorca's local administrations. Last year, there was a spat between the regional government and ADEAC, which is the Blue Flag organising association in Spain. The president of this association wanted the government to withdraw remarks that questioned the value and indeed legitimacy of the award.
Certain municipalities are paying less attention to the Blue Flag because of the emergence of various other quality systems. In Manacor, for instance, there aren't Blue Flags. Alcudia is the same. Its main beach is covered by all manner of other systems and standards. The town hall doesn't bother putting its beaches forward for consideration.
Blue Flags nationally
The national secretary-of-state for tourism, Matilde Asián, is someone who does continue to appreciate the Blue Flags. She said yesterday that Spain's tourism leadership is "indisputable", noting that, apart from Blue Flags, the country has been named the most competitive for tourism for the second successive time. On the Blue Flags, she observed that they are awards which were ahead of their time when they were initiated thirty years ago.
Across Spain there are 579 Blue Flags. Spain is the world leader in terms of the number of flags and has been the leader for the past thirty years. The total is, though, down by seven. The decrease is attributed to demands for water quality which has to be "excellent" and not just good.
Valencia, with 129, has the most Blue Flags, followed by Galicia (113), Catalonia (95) and Andalusia (90). In terms of ports, the nineteen in the Balearics place the region in second place behind Catalonia with 2. The Balearics, specifically Colonia Sant Jordi, has three out of five "sustainable tourism boats" in Spain; the other two are in Malaga.
Rescue services and lifeguards, environmental information and accessibility for the disabled all come into the Blue Flag equation. Playa de Muro heads the list when it comes to rescue, along with Lloret del Mar and Gandía. There is a total of 475 defibrillators on Spain's beaches. This despite their not being mandatory according to Blue Flag criteria but have been recommended for the past four years.
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Everytime I have seen somone littering a beach it has been locals. I was in Deia last year and 4 lads in a car (drunk) threw out a bin load of rubbish from the car windows as they left the car park. The locals can say what they want about tourists, but most of them are much more respectful of the environment than the locals.
We visit Port De Pollenca every year and witness the decline of beach quality. Main culprits are local fishermen who leave all their garbage on the beach, local families who party on the beach and walk away from their rubbish and boat owners who dump stuff overboard. The beaches are raked by a tractor that really just turns the rubbish over. Occasionally a team of people walk the natural beaches along the sea road but the task of picking up rubbish dumped on a daily basis is impossible. We visited Cyprus a couple of years ago and their Government impose €1000 fines for littering and police it very strictly. Result? - clean roads, beaches and footpaths. The locals there seem to take a pride in their island, unlike the people of Mallorca who take it for granted.
Staggered that Can Pere Antoni got a blue flag. This in itself proves the system is flawed. It is always full of garbage. I ride by it every day and am amazed to see Emaya employees clean the bicycle path and occasionally the beach being cleaned but the area between the bicycle path and the beach is a garbage pit. I used to clean it until I finally wised up and figured I was doing for free what somebody, somewhere was being paid to clean. The beach is a disgrace and considering it is within walking distance from downtown, deserves better!
The only surprise here is that there aren't fewer blue flag beaches. I travel Europe a lot, Mallorca's beaches are rubbish and even the so called good ones are so overcrowded its horrible. Es Trenc? Very average. People should head to Greece and Turkey to see a proper beach (outside Asia and the West Indies). I love Mallorca, but as a beach holiday it's one of the worst Holiday resorts in Europe.