ARCHIVED - Benidorm withdraws all its beaches from Blue Flag accreditation process
The Marina Baixa resort’s Poniente beach lost out on the prestigious award for the first time ever last year
In a rather risky move, Benidorm has decided not to put any of its beaches forward this summer for the Blue Flag award, a demanding and stringent process that is synonymous with quality and safety around the world.
The undisputed tourist capital of Alicante province, Benidorm has always boasted the important accolade – until last year, that is. To the fury of municipal officials who pride themselves on the town’s pristine shores, Poniente beach lost its flag due to water quality problems.
Now, following this slight, Benidorm has decided that in 2023, none of its beaches will fly the flag.
The refusal to take part in the process was confirmed by José Palacios, president of The Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (Adeac), this week, who confirmed that while “it’s the first time that it has happened” in Benidorm, “the Blue Flag program is voluntary, that is, the municipality freely decides to present itself or not”.
In an effort to avoid the situation seeming like a temper tantrum because of the refusal of Poniente last year, several officials, including Benidorm’s mayor, have explained that many beach improvement works are in the pipeline for 2023, which makes it impractical to apply for the flags.
However, when asked whether the water quality at Poniente beach is now up to scratch, the Adeac representative admitted that it’s not quite there yet. This, he added, is unlikely to effect Benidorm’s image as a top tourist destination.
The authorities haven’t confirmed whether they’ll reapply in 2024, but the associations has confirmed that it is “always open to Benidorm requesting the blue flags again”.
And despite this year’s no show by Benidorm, Mr Palacios has described the region as “a true marvel”.
“The Valencian Community has been, uninterruptedly, the community with the most blue flags in all of Spain,” he concluded.
Image: VisitBenidorm
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