May 14, 2024, 10:49 am
3 min read
ROME – The number of coastal locations that will be able to boast the 2024 Blue Flag recognition has risen to 236. ten more than last year. Banner which this year, for the 38th edition, will fly on 485 beaches with excellent sea for 4 consecutive years (27 more than in 2023) which correspond to approximately 11.5% of those awarded worldwide.
On the other hand, tourist landing places fell from 84 to 81 who have obtained international recognition from the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) on the basis of 32 Program criteria.
Liguria is always first on the podium, marking 2 new entries but losing two Flags, thus confirming 34 locations; Puglia rises to 24 with 3 new Municipalities and one exit while Campania and Calabria follow on equal merit with 20 Flags, with one more recognition each.
With a new entry, the Marche region receives 19 Blue Flags, while Tuscany, which loses a municipality, drops to 18. Sardinia confirms its 15 locations, Abruzzo also rises to 15 with a new entry, Sicily reaches 14 Flags with three new entrances (Letojanni, Scicli and Taormina).
Trentino Alto Adige (the flags are also assigned to the beaches on the lakes) rises to 12 with two more municipalities, Lazio remains at 10. In Emilia Romagna, 9 locations were awarded and the 9 Flags of Veneto reconfirmed. Basilicata confirms its 5 localities, and there are also 5 Municipalities in Piedmont that obtain the Flags. Lombardy confirms 3 Municipalities, Friuli Venezia Giulia maintains its 2, like Molise. This year there are 23 Blue Flags on the lakes, with 2 new features.
In total there are 14 new entries: Ortona (Abruzzo), Parghelia (Calabria), Cellole (Campania), Borgio Verezzi (Liguria), Recco (Liguria), Porto Sant’Elpidio (Marche), Lecce (Puglia), Manduria (Puglia), Patù (Puglia), Letojanni (Sicily), Scicli (Sicily), Taormina (Sicily), Tenno (Trentino Alto Adige), Vallelaghi (Trentino Alto Adige).
Four municipalities were not reconfirmed: Ameglia (Liguria), Taggia (Liguria), Margherita di Savoia (Puglia) and Marciana Marina (Tuscany).
In the Blue Flag award ceremony, today at the CNR headquarters in Rome, in the presence of the mayors and the Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, Nello Musumeci, the president of the Fee Italia Foundation, Claudio Mazza, underlined that the number of flags is increasing, “but what is growing above all is the sensitivity and awareness of the citizens, who deserve the credit for this recognition.
Every Blue Flag Administration knows well that virtuous management of the territory also necessarily involves training and from the involvement of individuals, schools, associations, local activities and all operators”.
And in fact, great importance is given to the management of the territory implemented by the municipal administrations which aim for the Blue Flag also to promote their territory on a tourist level. The 32 criteria of the Program, explains Fee Italia, are updated periodically in order to push the participating local administrations to commit to solving, and improving over time, the problems relating to land management for careful protection of the environment.
In the evaluation phase carried out by the Commission according to a rigid procedural scheme, various institutional bodies have given their contribution, including the ministries of Tourism, Agriculture, food sovereignty and forests, the Environment and Energy Security; the Istituto Superiore di Sanità; the Orders of Chemists and Physicists; the National Research Council; University of Tuscia and the University for Foreigners of Perugia; and private organizations such as seaside unions (Sib-Confcommercio and Fiba Confesercenti).
Subsequent approval by the international jury led to the achievement of the final result. The 81 award-winning landing places, explains Fee Italia, demonstrate that the tourist port has consolidated the sustainability choices undertaken, meeting the requirements for the international award, guaranteeing the quality and quantity of the services provided in full environmental compatibility.
FEE, founded in 1981, is an international non-governmental and non-profit organisation, registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and with headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, currently present in 81 countries on five continents. The main objective of the Fee programs is the dissemination of good practices for environmental sustainability, through multiple education and training activities, with particular attention to schools of all levels.
Published on
May 14, 2024, 10:49 am
