Mexico now has 94 locations that can fly the Blue Flag environmental designation, positioning the country among the top 10 in the world for beaches, marinas, and boats that qualify for this environmental certification.
Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marques announced that 62 beaches, three marinas and 29 boats have been awarded the distinction this year, placing Mexico in 10th place out of 47 countries in the program.
The total is up from 90 last year.
The 62 Blue Flag beaches are located in nine Mexican states:
Baja California Sur: La Paz 1, Los Cabos 22;
Guerrero: Acapulco 5, Zihuatanejo 4;
Jalisco: Puerto Vallarta 2 (Playa de Oro & Sheraton);
Nayarit: Bahia de Banderas 1 (Nuevo Vallarta Norte), Santa Maria del Oro 1;
Oaxaca: Huatulco 2;
Quintana Roo: Benito Juarez (Cancun) 10; Isla Mujeres 3, Puerto Morelos 1, Solidaridad (Playa del Carmen) 6;
Sonora: Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) 1;
Tamaulipas: Ciudad Madero 1;
Yucatan: Progreso 2.
A voluntary eco-label awarded to beaches and marinas in 48 countries, the Blue Flag works towards sustainable development of beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with Water Quality, Environmental Education and Information, Environmental Management, and Safety & Other Services. Beaches are awarded the Blue Flag based on compliance with 32 attributes within these four primary categories.
Marques stated that distinctive such as this, which promote the sustainable development of coastal environments, represent an added value for any tourist destination, and even more so in the face of the adverse circumstances that tourism in the world is going through due to Covid-19.
“My recognition to all those who in one way or another are involved in the conservation of beaches and marinas, through better schemes and sustainable practices, achieving year after year that there are more and more blue flags that wave in our tourist destinations,” Torruco Marques said.
He added that these efforts contribute significantly to improving the perception of our tourist destinations and generating greater confidence in the tourists who visit us, a fundamental factor for the process of reactivating the tourism sector in Mexico.
Sources: Travel2LatAm