Greece Awarded With 408 Blue Flags Beaches For 2014

Greece has been awarded “Blue Flags” for 408 beaches this year, as announced by the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, which runs the international ΄blue flag΄ programme in the country. With 3.372 beaches receiving the award internationally, Greece thus ranked second among 51 countries.

According to AMNA, the Blue Flags are awarded on a basis of a number of criteria, including cleanliness of the coast and the sea, organisation, information, safety and protection of the coastal environment.

Almost all Greek bathing ares of ΄excellent΄ quality, ministry report finds

Approximately 94 percent of Greece΄s swimming waters were classified as "excellent" in terms of quality, while practically all (99.8 percent) were suitable for swimming, according to the National Report on the evaluation of the quality of the country΄s bathing areas for 2013.

Alternate Environment Minister Nikos Tagaras said "the sea and our shores are a comparative competitive advantage for the country," adding that "their quality is now being confirmed scientifically in light of the summer season."

The minister also said that "it is a continuous obligation of all of us, both state and citizens, to safeguard our invaluable sea treasure".

The evaluation took into consideration the microbiological parameters of 2,162 representative sample locations and implemented statistical processing anticipated by legislation on the results of the past four years (2010-2013).