The General Director of Tourism, Francisco Martín Simón, stated this Thursday in the Portuguese town of Lousã that Extremadura has set itself the goal of doubling the blue flags in inland waters and go from the eight obtained in 2022 to 16 in the coming years.
Martín has made these statements in the II Iberian Blue Flag Congress on Inland Beacheswhere he also highlighted that Extremadura is a “sustainable blue destination”, with more than 1,500 kilometers of inland coastline and a wide range of thermal, fluvial and active tourism.
The one with the most blue flags in inland waters
Extremadura, it has affected, is the autonomous community “with the most blue flags in continental waters. Of the 16 in Spain, eight are in our region. We want to continue growing sustainably and, for this reason, we intend to double the blue flags in the coming years. Go step by step and reach 16.
We have to accelerate the responses to climate change and make an Iberian freshwater strategy until the year 2075″.
In this sense, he pointed out that in the next summit between Spain and Portugal “a clear and precise road map should be established. In the short term, with investments until 2030; in the medium term, until 2050; and in the long term, until 2075”.
Collaboration Spain-Portugal
And he added that “if Spain and Portugal want to continue being leading destinations in the world, with 115 million international travelers a year, they must put water at the center, as a key to sustainability.”
The Lousã congress, which continues the one held last year in Alange, is organized by the Town Hall of the Portuguese town, Turismo de Centro de Portugal, lThe General Directorate of Tourism of Extremadura, the Associação Bandeira Azul da Europa (ABAE) and the Association of Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC)entities that award the blue flags in Portugal and Spain, respectively.
In the Portuguese city, experts from the two countries, from mayors and heads of public entities to company managers, discuss and exchange experiences on the management of inland beaches, as well as addressing topics such as nautical and nature tourism.
The entry Extremadura seeks to double the blue flags in the coming years was first published in EFE Noticias.