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This year Spain is once again

the world leader

in the number of beaches with a blue flag, the highest category they can obtain in terms of quality and safety. And it has been since 1994. In total, there are

615 sandy areas in 243 municipalities

that have achieved this distinction, 25 more than in 2020. The characteristic blue flags are already waving these days. If we add the ports that are also included in this list, the figure reaches 713.

In the world ranking, Spain accounts for 14.78% of the

4,825 blue flags

that are delivered to 47 countries on the five continents participating in the program, ours being number one. Or put another way, one out of every seven beaches with this distinction is in Spain. Behind would come

France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Portugal.

The endorsement that indicates which are the

best beaches on

the planet is granted by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC), part of the international network of the Foundation for

Environmental

Education

(FEE).

Since 1987 and with the approval of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), it measures both the

quality of the water

and the services, the infrastructure, the signaling or the cleanliness of the beaches.

La Barrosa, in Chiclana de la Frontera (Cádiz) .SHUTTERSTOCK

Fernando Valdés, Secretary of State for Tourism, points out that, despite the

impact that the pandemic

has generated in national destinations, "the great joint effort carried out by the

different administrations

allows us to give very good news this year. Spain will continue being the undisputed leader in 2021 ".

VALENCIAN COMMUNITY, THE NUMBER ONE

The Valencian Community is once again the one that receives the most flags this year, 137 (41.39% of the total), to which are added another

16 of the ports

.

The second region is Andalusia, with 115 and 28.61%,

20 ports

and two tourist boats, while the third place is occupied by Galicia, with 111 beaches distributed (12.89%) in 34 municipalities, which must be add 11 ports.

José R. Sánchez Moro, co-founder of the FEE, adds, for his part: "Never until this crisis have the blue flag values ​​been more necessary, their

criteria

more demanding, nor our support and recognition of their social utility, more deserved and ample ".

Oliva beach, in Valencia.

RANKING BY REGIONS

After the Valencian Community, Andalusia and Galicia,

Catalonia

arrives

with 97 distinctions on its beaches (2 more than last year), the Canary Islands with 59 (eight more), the Balearic Islands with 31 (seven less) and Murcia with 26 (the same number than in 2020).

Asturias (with 14),

Cantabria

(11),

the Basque Country

(five),

Melilla

(fourth) and

Ceuta

(two).

It would be necessary to speak of Extremadura, with two inland beaches, and the Community of Madrid, with one.

SANXENXO, THE MUNICIPALITY WITH THE MOST DISTINCTIONS

Sanxenxo

is the town that will see the most blue flags flying this summer, with a total of 17, which makes it the municipality in Galicia and in all of Spain with the most distinctions of this type.

Pontevedra

leads one more year, with 58 (six more than in 2020), followed by

La Coruña

(35) and

Lugo

(18).

In terms of municipalities,

Orihuela,

in Alicante, is the second with the most sandy areas in the whole country, 12.

The beach of the Galician municipality of Sanxenxo. SHUTTERSTOCK

THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE INCREASED THE MOST

Regarding the autonomous communities whose number of beaches with the blue flag has increased the most, the first is

Andalusia

, which has obtained 18 more than last year, with a total of 120. Of these, 100 will wave on the beaches, 18 in marinas and two in sustainable boats.

By region, Malaga leads with 34 beaches.

Later,

Almería

would come

with 31,

Cádiz

with 30,

Granada

with 11 and

Huelva

with nine.

NINE INLAND BEACHES

Of the 615 beaches included in the Spanish ranking, nine are inland, two more than in 2020, those of

As Pontes

, in A Coruña, and Ardales, in Malaga.

Others are added such as the

Playa Dulce de Orellana

in Orellana la Vieja and La Dehesa in Cheles, and that of Virgen de la Nueva, in

San Martín de Valdeiglesias

(Madrid).

THE BEST IN LIFESTYLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Regarding the topics evaluated, the municipalities that have obtained the best scores in the first aid and first aid section are

Chiclana de la Frontera

(Cádiz) and

Muro

(Balearic Islands).

In environmental education, meanwhile,

Arucas

(Palmas de Gran Canaria),

Conil de la Frontera

(Cádiz) and

Gandía

(Valencia)

win

.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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