Eleven beaches on the Maltese islands have been awarded the blue flag award this year, the tourism minister announced on Thursday.
The Blue Flag programme is operated by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) which is headquartered in Copenhagen.
Blue flag status is awarded for one season only on the basis of strict environmental, educational, safety-related and access-related criteria.
Addressing a press conference, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said "Maltese bays were, are and will remain an intrinsic part of the tourism product we offer as an island and these awards mean that Malta is reaching quality targets across the board".
He said this was further attested to by the fact that Għadira, Riviera, and Ramla Bay were among a number of international beaches recently recommended by Forbes.
“We are aiming to have more blue flag beaches next year as we continue working to attain a standard of excellence in the tourism sector,” he said.
Vincent Attard from Nature Trust Malta said, this year, the Blue Flag programme praised Malta for its management of the pandemic.
“This year, measures aimed to restrict the spread of the virus were included as part of the safety criteria and Malta was praised for measures taken to ensure people on its beaches remain safe,” he said.
He also said this award was significant for tourism, since it was widely regarded especially by northern European tourists.
Malta and Gozo's blue flag beaches
The beaches that have obtained this eco-certificate this year are:
(Malta)
Buġibba perched beach
Fond Għadir (Sliema)
Golden Sands Beach
Għajn Tuffieħa Bay
Mellieħa Bay
Qawra Point Beach
St George’s Bay (St Julian’s)
(Gozo)
Ħondoq ir-Rummien Bay
Marsalforn Bay
Ramla Bay in Gozo
Last year 11 beaches were given blue flag status by the Foundation for Environmental Education, and the year before 12 were granted the award.