Greece has ranked second in the world again for the “Blue Flag” quality award list of beaches, marinas and sustainable tourism boats.

The great news has come just in time for those deciding where to head for their summer swims; with the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (EEPF) announcing at a special event on Monday, that Greece was named second among 53 countries on the 2022 Blue Flag quality award list. 

Coastal stretches across Greece have been awarded 581 flags, marinas have received 15 in total and six tourist boats have been accredited by the Blue Flag label, which corresponds to 14 percent of the total number of beaches awarded by the program this year.

Halkidiki’s beaches received the highest number of accolades with 96 flags, followed by Attica, Crete and Rhodes.

Spain has retained the title of world leader in Blue Flag awards in 2022 with the country’s beaches, marinas and tourist boats having received a total of 729.

The prestigious Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria must be met and maintained.

Central to the ideals of the Blue Flag program is the aim of connecting the public with their surroundings and encouraging them to learn more about their environment. As such, environmental education activities must be offered and promoted in addition to a permanent display of information relevant to the site in terms of biodiversity, ecosystems and environmental phenomena.

 The International Jury Blue Flag 2022 for the northern hemisphere, chaired by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has awarded 5,042 Blue Flags in 74 countries, 4,194 for beaches, 732 for marinas and 116 for tourist boats.