ARCHIVED - Spain remains Blue Flag world leader with record number of the iconic quality awards
Spain's beaches and marinas remain amongst the most distinguished in the world with a record 713 Blue Flags awarded.
The Blue Flags are one of the most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators globally, and Spain will proudly fly an impressive 713 of them this summer.
Of the 713 flags - up 98 on last year - 615 of the awards are for beaches, 96 for ports and two for tourist boat operators.
In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Spain recovered almost all of the blue flags it had lost a year earlier and had 589 beaches with the distinction - a record of its own - placing it ahead of France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Portugal.
The Valencia Region is home to the most Blue Flags in Spain, according to ADEAC, the organisation that coordinates the awarding of the distinction, with 153.
Hot on its heels in Andalucia with 137, followed by Galicia with 122.
Spain has safely held onto its title as the country with the most blue-flag beaches in the world since 1994.
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