Awarding ceremony of blue flags to 68 beaches

The awarding ceremony of the blue flags to 68 beaches took place on Thursday in Neo Chorio in Pafos.

Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, Costas Kadis, who awarded blue flags to representatives of the local authorities, said that in the last few days there have been excellent news for the beaches of Cyprus.

He recalled that Cyprus ranks first in Europe as regards the quality of beaches saying that Cyprus fully implements the provisions of the relevant European directive for the quality of the sea waters.

The Minister said that in addition to that, Cyprus secured another first ranking as regards blue flags, worldwide, adding that  Cyprus has the highest density of beaches that are awarded through this institution.

Kadis said that  in addition to the quality of the beaches, 33 more criteria are taken into consideration and are evaluated, such as the safety of the visitors and environmental awareness

Most blue flag beaches in Cyprus are in the Ayia Napa municipality (15 beaches), followed by the Paralimni municipality with 12 beaches, Agyios Tychonas with 7 and Pafos with 6.