While Spain has set a new record and will be flying the most blue flags inSpain, the Balearics have lost more flags than any other region.While three beaches in Majorca were stripped of their blue flags, a total of 11 beaches and ports lost their flags across the Balearics.
Nevertheless, there are 57 blue flag beaches in the Balearics, the fifth highest figure in Spain.
The country has been awarded a total of 577 blue flag beaches for 2015, four more than last year, confirming Spain’s crown as the country with the best beaches on earth; it has led the worldwide rankings since FEE, the Foundation for Environmental Education, began the awards in 1987.
One out of every six blue flags on the world’s beaches is in Spain, FEE confirmed.
Galicia is the Spanish region with the most blue flag beaches, with 131, followed by Valencia, with 120, Catalonia with 89, Andalusia 78 and the Balearics with 57.
Spain is followed in the international rankings by Turkey, which boasts 436 blue flag beaches, Greece with 395 and France with 379.
The blue flag is a symbol of the environmental quality of beaches and is awarded on the basis of four criteria: Environmental education and information, water quality, environmental management and safety and services. The FEE, whose jury included the UN Environment Programme and the UN World Tourism Organisation awarded 4,159 blue flags this year.