Antalya, one of Turkey’s leading resort cities running along the Mediterranean coastline, has been crowned the leader in the list of cities with the most Blue Flag beaches.
 
It now has 202 beaches awarded with a Blue Flag, an exclusive eco-label granted to beaches and marinas that suit certain criteria like water quality, environmental information, and safety.
Muğla, with over 100 Blue Flag-certified beaches, comes second in Turkey, followed by İzmir and Aydın.

Turkey, which has a total of 463 Blue Flag-certified beaches, has ranked third in the world this year.

Every year Turkey increases its Blue Flag beaches, 313 of which are surrounded by tourist facilities while another 150 are public. For tourists, the iconic blue flag is important because it represents clean sea water and good environmental management. In other words, the higher the number of Blue Flag beaches, the better the microbiology of beaches, the stronger the awareness of environmental management in a country.    
    
The Blue Flag certification program, run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), is being implemented in about 50 countries. A regular check of seawater content, adequate number of lifeguards and/or lifesaving equipment, management of beach users and events, holding a plan for emergency cases, environmental management and offering access for the physically disabled are some of the FEE’s criteria to meet to attain Blue Flag status. - TradeArabia News Service