According to the blue flag awards for 2023 announced by the international blue flag jury, 551 beaches, 23 marinas, 14 tourism boats and 10 individual yachts will fly the Blue Flag in Turkey this year.
According to the news source of the Turkish tourism sector, Tourism News Center, Turkey ranked third in the world with the number of beaches in the Blue Flag ranking announced by the International Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Turkey ranked third, followed by Italy and France.
The Blue Flag program, which was launched in Turkey after the European Union declared 1987 as the year of the environment, aims to protect public health and to maintain it through environmental education and awareness-raising activities.
Within the scope of the Blue Flag program, which was introduced in Turkey in 1993 and implemented in 50 countries around the world, 33 criteria for Blue Flag beaches, 38 criteria for marinas, 51 criteria for tourism boats and 4 criteria for individual yachts and 16 rules of behavior are taken into consideration.
In 2022, the number of Blue Flag beaches in Turkey was 531.