The second International Blue Flag Congress begins at the House of Culture. The main objective is to share experiences and examples of good practices so that destinations can move towards sustainable tourism.
Starting today, the House of Culture of l’Alfàs del Pi hosts the second International Blue Flag Congress, an event that brings together nearly 50 national and international speakers, experts in areas such as sustainability, health and accessibility on beaches. , safety and environmental education. Under the name ‘Sustainability, health and safety’ this initiative is presented, which aims to share experiences and examples of good practices that allow progress towards sustainable tourism.
More than 200 people from different parts of the world attend this congress, which ADEAC co-organizes with the Alfàs del Pí and Gandía City Councils. The event is held today and tomorrow at the facilities of the House of Culture of l’Alfàs del Pi and on Thursday, October 24, at Playa Nord in Gandía.
The opening ceremony, held this afternoon, brought together at the House of Culture the Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, Nuria Montes; the president of the Provincial Council of Alicante, Toni Pérez; the president of ADEAC, José Palacios; the mayor of l’Alfàs del Pi, Vicente Arques, and the Councilor for Tourism of Gandía, Balbina Sendra. A meeting that also included Johann Durand, International Director of Blue Flag, and Isabel Oliver, senior official of UN Tourism.
During her speech, the Minister of Tourism, Nuria Montes, stressed the importance of hosting this congress in the Valencian Community, a leading region in terms of Blue Flags. “37 Blue Flags and more than 200 Qualitur certificates precisely guarantee the management of many coastal municipalities, including l’Alfàs del Pi, which are an example of how to manage our beaches and coasts well,” declared Montes.after announcing the approval this morning by the Consell of the preliminary draft of the Valencian Coastal Law. “15% of the Valencian GDP is related to coastal management and with this Law what is intended is better management, more adapted to our reality,” he added.
In Spain, the collaboration of local, regional and state administrations with the Blue Flag program is allowing very positive results to be achieved in the image of quality, respect for the environment and safety. We must continue working in this line. This has been stated by José Palacios, president of ADEAC. “In this congress we are going to have 48 experts who are going to demonstrate real experiences that other municipalities can understand as valid to change towards more sustainable management,” he declared.
Among the experiences that Palacios has cited are the smoke-free beaches, to protect children, but also the smokers themselves and, most especially, the marine ecosystems. “A single cigarette butt that goes into the sea contaminates 100 liters of water,” he explained. Also beaches without trash cans on the sandy beaches, to avoid all that waste that falls into the sea, or beaches without showers, “because a lot of fresh water is wasted.”
Ultimately, it is about continuing to support sustainable management of beaches and tourist destinations. “We must take care of, pamper and protect our beaches, because they are a great source of wealth, not only environmental, but also economic and social. How much and good a space like a beach, a path or a blue center provides us,” declared the president of the Alicante Provincial Council, Toni Pérez, after emphasizing “the importance that the Blue Flag has in the Valencian Community, and especially in the Marina Baixa thanks to municipalities like l’Alfàs del Pi, which have been emblematic of this recognition.”
L’Alfàs del Pi has been distinguished by ADEAC as the municipality with the most Blue Centers in Europe. This Alicante town has six Blue Centers, spaces dedicated to environmental education, which together with the Blue Path award of the Route to the Lighthouse of l’Albir and the Blue Flag of Racó de l’Albir beach, add up to a total of 8 certificates that are synonymous with excellence, quality and care for the environment.
For the mayor of l’Alfàs del Pi, Vicente Arques, these 8 awards endorse the work carried out by the City Council of l’Alfàs del Pi for the recovery, conservation and dissemination of the natural and cultural heritage of the municipality. “It was in 1987 when l’Albir beach obtained the Blue Flag, which has not stopped flying since then, and from 2013 to 2023 l’Alfàs achieved seven other distinctions, so being able to host this International Congress in the municipality Blue Flag is like a reward for the work started almost 40 years ago,” said Arques.
The Councilor for Tourism of Gandía, Balbina Sendra, has spoken in the same sense, describing it as a “privilege” to be able to present at this congress the work that has been done for so many years in Gandía in beach management.
Nearly fifty presentations
Nearly 50 speakers participate in the congress, including professors, professors, researchers, mayors, councillors, technicians and experts, to present work related to 4 content blocks: ‘Sustainability: comprehensive management of dunes and seagrass meadows and sustainable management of the marine environment’; ‘Health and accessibility on beaches’; ‘Safety and first aid’ and ‘Environmental Education: presentation of experiences and practical examples of activities’. It is about sharing real experiences of entities that demonstrate that tourism committed to sustainability, education, safety and health is possible.
Another of the objectives that ADEAC sets with the organization of this congress is to demonstrate that the Blue Flag is a symbol of collaboration between local, regional and state administrations to comply with strict criteria related to excellent water quality, information and management. environmental, legality, accessibility and safety.
Inaugural presentation: ‘The sea: essential for life’
Doctor María Gómez Ballesteros was in charge of giving the inaugural presentation, titled ‘The Sea: essential for life’. During his speech he spoke about the importance of the oceans as one of the main reserves of biodiversity in the world, being essential for the health of our planet and for the health of humanity.
Marine ecosystems are fundamental for social well-being as a source of food, energy, health, climate regulator… Biodiversity and marine ecosystems are intrinsically linked to these services that the oceans provide us and that support important economic activities such as fishing, tourism, energy or transportation.
However, these activities which have intensified significantly in the last two decades, are subjecting the oceans to anthropogenic pressures that have an increasing impact on their ecosystems, and They affect their health and the sustainability of the goods and services they provide us, some of them possibly already irreversible.
Despite the vast expanse of the ocean, covering more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, many of its ecosystems have been damaged or directly destroyed. Therefore, María Gómez Ballesteros has highlighted the urgency of investing in marine research, in addition to moving towards sustainable management of tourist destinations, especially coastal ones.. To do this, policies are necessary that help protect ecosystems. “And in this work all sectors involved must have a voice, which is why conferences like this one are so important. We need everyone’s experience. We need your collaboration and your contributions,” he stated.
After 25 years of experience working in marine research, María Gómez Ballesteros emphasizes the need to live hand in hand with the oceans in a sustainable way. “The blue economy must be managed from an ecosystem approach, protecting and conserving the oceans,” he concluded.
María Gómez Ballesteros belongs to the scientific staff of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and has worked on more than 60 marine research projects since 1998, both national and international, on the study of the ocean floor, geology and processes, marine ecosystems. vulnerable, protected habitats, underwater archeology and maritime spatial planning, carrying out oceanographic campaigns in different oceans, including Antarctica and the recent eruption of the La Palma volcano, where he worked on the monitoring and effects on the ecosystem of the arrival of lava to the sea . She is currently the Technical and Advisory Vice Director of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (Ministry of Science and Innovation).