Spain still unbeaten for blue-flagged beaches...since 1987

YET again and for the 36^th year running, Spain holds the record for the highest number of blue-flagged beaches in the world, with its east-coast region of the Comunidad Valenciana having more than any other.

And for the second consecutive year, Spain has increased its blue-flag count by exactly six – from 615 in 2021 and 621 in 2022, its total has risen to 627 for 2023.

Overall, 91% of beaches, ports, yacht marinas and leisure crafts, such as cruise ships, which applied for blue flag status were accepted, although it was beaches which showed the greatest rise in standards.

Last year, 103 ports and yacht clubs earned blue flags, but the number has dropped to 97, whilst the five 'tourist vessels' given the kitemark in 2022 have retained it for 2023.

Counting these, Spain now holds 729 blue flags, of which 627 are beaches, out of the 689 which applied.

Many awarded flags for this year were regaining those lost in 2022, showing that their town councils had dedicated extra effort in attempting to bring their beaches back up to 'excellent'.

More than one in seven blue-flagged beaches are in Spain

An international quality stamp, the blue flag award was created in 1987 and applying for it is voluntary, but nerve-wracking and expensive. Extremely rigorous criteria must be met, which normally involves months of local authority efforts and considerable funding – although the cash spent on bringing a beach up to the stringent standards for a blue flag is normally considered an investment rather than an expense, since it is a major draw for tourists and a splendid advert for a destination.

The International Environmental Education Foundation is the awarding body, and Spain's blue flags are granted via the Environmental and Consumer Education Association (ADEAC).

As yet, Spain has never failed to be the country with the most blue flags on earth – quite an achievement, considering it competes against established beach tourism destinations that multiply it in size and length of coast, such as Brazil and México and, in the case of Australia and the USA, countries larger in land-mass than the entire continent of Europe.

In fact, 15% of all blue-flagged beaches on earth are in Spain – one in every 6.7 - with Greece and Turkey coming second and third.

“We should be super-proud of Spain, because it is one of the few countries in the world where its entire coast is accessible to the public, and that requires huge effort,” says ADEAC deputy chairwoman Virginia Yuste.

“I have never yet found another country like this.”

Where are the flags?

Perhaps it's unsurprising that the regions with the longest coastlines will have the most blue-flagged beaches – but that's not necessarily the case. Whilst the southernmost mainland region of Andalucía has more coastal provinces than any other – Almería, Granada, Málaga, Cádiz and Huelva – its flag total for this year, 148, comes second to that of the Comunidad Valenciana, with 153.

The latter, with three provinces, all bordering the Mediterranean, is habitually the region with the most blue flags, and the southernmost of these provinces, Alicante, always holds the most in the Comunidad Valenciana.

That means Alicante's 69 blue-flagged beaches make it the province with the most on earth.

The second- and fourth-highest totals are not where you might expect, though. Whilst the traditional Costas and islands are the Spanish beach destinations most often found in travel agents' windows and websites in northern Europe, the most blue-flagged beaches in the country after Alicante are in the province of Pontevedra, in the far north-western region of Galicia.

Just north of Pontevedra, the Galicia province of A Coruña has the fourth-highest total of blue flags in Spain, with 37 – the province of Málaga, whose coast is known as the Costa del Sol, has just two more than A Coruña, with 39.

And the province with the highest percentage of its beaches bearing blue flags is at least a two-hour drive from the nearest sea – which happens to be abroad. Badajoz, in the land-locked western region of Extremadura, boasts eight blue-flagged inland beaches out of a total of 12, despite its closest coastal beach being in Portugal.

Climate change risk to blue-flagged beaches

Non-coastal beaches are gaining in popularity, number and fame, with their blue flag total rising every year – but they're also the beaches whose kitemarks are most under threat.

ADEAC explains that with the ongoing drought, rivers and lakes are at risk of drying up or their levels falling well below average; if that happens, any beaches along their shores will lose their blue flags, however impeccable they may otherwise be.

And as rivers and lakes can dry up very quickly at any point in summer, land-locked beaches are inspected throughout the season, meaning their flags can be withdrawn there and then.

Coastal beaches, when awarded blue flags, keep these until the following spring, when their local councils reapply if they wish to, but inland waterways may not retain their kitemarks for that long.

Climate change is a constant potential barrier to blue flags, ADEAC warns – floods, storms and similar extreme weather phenomena are far more frequent nowadays and the damage to beaches is notable.

Coastal erosion is aggravated by excessive building development, leading many towns, provinces and entire regions to pass laws blocking planning permission for areas within a given distance of the shore.

Protecting seas against erosion and drought

These factors – natural and man-made – are taking their toll on dunes and sea life, especially the Posidonia Oceanica meadows at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

This marine plant, otherwise known as Neptune Grass, acts as a vital oxygen supply for the sea water, eating up carbon dioxide and keeping fish alive. 

Loss of dunes also means a decline in on-shore plant life, which is also a fundamental weapon in the war on climate change. 

Given that the world's seas provide up to 50% of the oxygen supply on planet Earth, their health is vital to our own, recalls José Palacios, chairman of ADEAC.

“Our life and heath depend directly upon that of the place we live in, so for that reason, the most intelligent thing we can do is respect, care for, conserve and recover our natural environment,” he stresses.

Virginia Yuste also warns about excessive use of on-tap water, especially in summer in Spain, in light of the recent lack of rainfall.

She says beachgoers should 'try not to use the showers' set up on the sands, including foot-showers.

“Water quality on blue-flagged beaches is excellent; your skin isn't going to suffer from being in the sea,” she assures.

“If you want to wash it off you, do it when you get home rather than on the beach.

“Showers set up on the beach are not a requirement for blue flags, so not having these in place is no barrier to receiving this distinction.”