Greece Counts 625 Blue Flag Beaches, Ranks 2nd in the World

Greece came in second, among 52 countries, on the 2024 Blue Flag quality award list for beaches, marinas and sustainable tourism boats.

According to the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (EEPF), Greece once again ranks second after Spain worldwide among 52 countries with 625 (up from 617 last year) of its beaches, 18 marinas, and 9 tourism boats getting the Blue Flag label, one of the world’s most recognized voluntary eco-labels.

“A steady upward trend is noticed in Greece with an increase in the number of award-winning beaches every year,” EEPF said.

With Greece’s Blue Flag beaches exceeding 600, the country holds 15 percent of the total number of beaches awarded by the program this year.

Halkidiki is once again Greece’s Blue Flag champion among prefectures as it boasts a total of 104 beaches (up from 94 last year) with the prestigious eco-label.

Out of Greece’s regions, Crete maintains first place with 146 Blue Flag beaches.

The annual announcement of Greece’s Blue Flag beaches, marinas and recreational boats took place on Friday in Kalamata.

The Blue Flag program is operated under the auspices of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. In Greece, the program’s coordinator is the EEPF.

On a worldwide scale the foundation awarded the international eco-label (blue flags) to 4,252 beaches, 733 marinas and 141 recreational boats for 2023.

Press here for Greece’s 2024 Blue Flag beaches list (in Greek and English).

In order to receive a Blue Flag eco-label, a beach must not only be found to have an excellent water quality, it must comply with a total of 33 criteria (38 for marinas and 51 for boat operators), which can be found on the following poster.