The number of beaches across Italy awarded the coveted bandiera blu (Blue Flag) status is now 427. This is an increase of 9 from last year, even with five resorts losing their flags.
The number of Italian seaside and lakeside resorts awarded the prestigious Blue Flag designation for cleanliness and sustainability has risen by nine to 427 this year, the international Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) said Tuesday.
The number of Blue Flag tourist ports has also risen by one to 82.
Liguria came top again with 32 beaches, while Campania, Tuscany and Puglia were joint second with 18 each. Italy is home to 10% of the Blue Flag beaches worldwide.
Five resorts lost their flags but there were 14 new entries – Alba Adriatica in Abruzzo; Caulonia and Isola di Capo Rizzuto in Calabria; Ispani in Campania; Riccione and San Mauro Pascoli in Emilia Romagna; Porto Recanati in Marche; Cannobio in Piedmont; Castro, Rodi Garganico and Ugento in Puglia; Budoni in Sardinia; Furci Siculo in Sicily, and Pietrasanta in Tuscany.
Good for tourism and economy
Coldiretti, the agricultural organisation, believes the increase in blue flags will see tourist numbers rise to the 33 million foreign tourists who stayed overnight during the summer before the Covid pandemic.
This is, underlines Coldiretti, is an important result after the pandemic more than halved (-55%) foreign presence in Italy in the period between June and September last year. Holidaymakers from abroad in Italy are strategic for tourist hospitality especially in the most popular destinations because visitors from these countries traditionally have a high spending capacity for accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, shopping and souvenirs.
Summer tourist spending, specifies Coldiretti, is an important driving force for the economy and employment for an estimated €40 billion.
Launched in 1987, the FEE’s Blue Flag program uses strict criteria on water quality, environmental education and management, safety and services to monitor sustainable development of beaches and marinas worldwide.
