BEACHES at two more Garden Route towns have received coveted Blue Flag status.
Plettenberg Bay received a blue flag for Robberg 5 beach, while Mossel Bay received blue flags for its Santos and Hartenbos beaches. Lappiesbaai beach in Still Bay and Dolphin beach in Jeffrey’s Bay retained their blue flags for another year.
Plett municipal beach manager Mark Fourie yesterday travelled to Cape Town where the South African beaches which had received blue flags were announced by Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
Bitou Tourism chief executive Dianna Martin said the municipality had had to deliver infrastructure, such as wheelchair friendly access, ablution facilities and lifeguard services before Blue Flag would consider their application.
“We are delighted with our new Blue Flag status. Being a world-class tourist destination, we want to be compliant and say to our visitors that our beaches, activities and accommodation are of the highest calibre.”
She said the new status meant the scales would tip in Plett’s favour when tourists were weighing up beach holiday destinations.
“We have to say a huge thank you to Mark Fourie and all the municipal officials and staff who worked to make it possible for us to add Blue Flag status to our tourism arsenal. We also appreciate our residents and visitors for their co- operation and respect in our efforts to obtain our Blue Flag,” Martin said.
Mossel Bay municipal manager Michele Gratz said the award was not only a great honour for Mossel Bay, but would also result in an economic injection for the town as tourists were drawn to Blue Flag beaches.
Blue Flag status is awarded to beaches that meet strict standards in terms of safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental impact.
To qualify for Blue Flag status, a beach must comply with 29 criteria, of which water quality is the most important. Blue Flag’s respresentative in South Africa, Alison Kelly, said they had received more applications this year ahead of the World Cup.
Western Cape Tourism MEC Alan Winde said he was delighted that the number of Western Cape Blue Flag beaches had now grown to 16.
“I would like to applaud the local authorities in charge of our globally recognised beaches. They have done a fantastic job. I would also like to thank the visitors for respecting the environment and facilities.”
Blue Flag status is awarded by an international jury of representatives from the UN Environment Programme, the UN World Tourism Organisation, International Lifesaving Federation, World Conservation Union, an environmental education expert, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations and the Foundation for Environmental Education.
Source: The Weekend Post
