Salou. Costa Dorada. 10 June 2020.
The Llevant and Capellans beaches in Salou have once again revalidated the Blue Flag award, as an environmental recognition of the quality they offer to swimmers.
The mayor of Salou, Pere Granados, has been satisfied, one more year, with the renewal of this recognition, since "we have long worked for the sustainable future of the Salouean coast, and now, more than ever, for having some beaches clean, healthy and safe".
For her part, the Councilor for Beaches, Quality and Use Plan, Julia Gómez, explains that "the objective of the blue flags is to promote and improve civic-environmental attitudes and behavior, in more sustainable destinations, that attract users and travelers responsible".
It must be said that Catalonia is in fourth place in the ranking by autonomous communities in 2020 in number of Blue Flag beaches, with a total of 95. The first place is for the Valencian Community (134); Galicia (107) and Andalusia (100) follow. The Canary Islands is in fifth place, with 51 beaches; Baleares, in sixth, with 38, and Murcia with 26, in seventh place. However, in the classification in terms of the number of awarded ports, Catalonia heads it, with 23.
This year 2020 to get the Blue Flag, in addition to meeting the criteria required during the bathing season, the beaches must also meet the hygiene and social distancing regulations decreed by the competent authorities.
The Blue Flag Program for beaches, ports and vessels was created and is developed by a non-profit, non-governmental organization, the "Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)". Currently, 45 countries in the five continents participate in this "Blue Flag" program, with the support and collaboration, among others, of the United Nations Agencies for Tourism (UNWTO) and the Environment (UNEP). The Program strives to promote the sustainable development of coastal areas, through the demand for high standards in the quality of bathing water, safety, environmental management and information and education for sustainability.
Blue Flag also works to promote cooperation between the tourism sector and the environmental sector, locally, regionally and nationally. Thus, throughout these years, the Blue Flag Program has become the most known and valued environmental award and badge, at a universal level, by tourists and tour operators.
