Over sixty-four beaches and two different marinas in the island nation of Cyprus have collectively won sixty-six Blue Flags on account of their high-quality and clean atmosphere.
The flags, awarded by Maria Panayiotou, Cyprus’ Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment – are a prestigious award for beaches that maintain a high order of cleanliness.
Minister Panayiotou went on to deliver her speech at the ceremony, which was held at Famagusta’s Fig Tree Bay, where she hailed the Blue Flag as one of the most internationally recognized symbols of good-quality beaches. She further added that winning the award is no small feat, since it requires adherence to very specific criteria, along with impeccable quality control.
Factors taken into consideration for evaluating an island’s cleanliness include bathers’ safety, availability of proper and helpful visitor information, the level of protection that can be provided to the surrounding flora and fauna, and of course how clean and in order the coast is.
Eighteen Blue Flags were awarded to Paralimni – Deryneia Municipality, sixteen were awarded to Ayia Napa Municipality, nine were awarded to the Amathus Municipality, six were awarded to Paphos Municipality, three were awarded to Hierokipia Municipality, where the Municipalities of Larnaca Akamas received three and two, respectively.
One blue flag was awarded to each of the community councils of Episkopi, Pentakomo, Zygi, Lempa, Oroklini, Pissouri, and Parekklisia. Ayia Napa and Limassol marinas were also awarded Blue Flags – one for each region.
George Nicolettos, Paralimni – Deryneia’s mayor, remarked on how much these awards mean to them and to the Cyprus tourism industry at large.
President of the National Blue Flag Judge and Secretary General of Cymepa Michalis Ierides announced that a further evaluation visit will be made at the award-winning beaches for verification. Any beach be found not fulfilling the criteria at any point will have their Flags suspended.
