As is tradition at the beginning of May, the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (Adeac) published this Wednesday the list of beaches in Spain that will be awarded the Blue Flag in the summer of 2025. A total of 642 stretches of the Spanish coast will bear this prestigious badge, which recognizes the quality of their water, facilities, and exemplary environmental management. This year, our country, a leader in this program created in 1987 for almost four decades, will award four more beaches with the Blue Flag than last summer.
A total of 749 Blue Flags were awarded this year, two more than in 2024. Of these, 642 beaches across the country (four more than last year), 101 marinas (one more), and six tourist boats (one fewer than in 2024) received the award. In addition, 16 beaches will be able to fly the Blue Flag for the first time this year, while 23 others have regained it.
At the autonomous region level, the Valencian Community once again leads the list of regions with the most Blue Flags, with 143 awards (five more than last year) in 48 municipalities, followed by Andalusia with 138 (eight more than in 2024, representing the largest increase this year), Galicia with 108 (although it lost six flags compared to last year), and Catalonia with 101 (six more than in 2024). The Canary Islands rank fifth with 47 awards, but recorded a decrease of nine flags compared to last year. This archipelago is therefore the region that has lost the most Blue Flags this year.
At the municipal level, Sanxenxo (19), Vigo (13), Orihuela (11), and Cartagena and Marbella (ten each) stand out as the cities with the most Blue Flags.
Spain is the world leader in the number of Blue Flag beaches and ranks third for marinas. 15% of the world’s Blue Flag beaches are located in Spain. “91% of the beaches presented have received the Blue Flag. They are well prepared and are actively working on their candidacies,” explained José Palacios, President of Adeac, during the press conference presenting this year’s results.
The event took place at the headquarters of the Secretary of State for Tourism. The hotel’s manager, Rosario Sánchez, emphasized that “many destinations throughout Spain that received the Blue Flag today [this Wednesday] will now receive investments from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism through the destinations’ sustainability plans, which will enable them to improve and maintain this distinction in the long term, or even achieve it for the first time: we are promoting investments to improve water quality, facilities, and accessibility.”
