Blue Flag Survey for Beach and Marina
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BLUE FLAG SURVEY FOR BEACH AND MARINA MANAGERS - RESULTS 1 FOREWORD This document is a summary of the survey conducted among beach and marina managers of Blue Flag awarded sites in 2011. The objective of the survey was to measure the satisfaction of the beach and marina managers with the Blue Flag and to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the programme from their perspective. It was conducted between 30th March and 2nd May 2011 (33 days in total), via the web-based survey platform “Survey Monkey”. Unfortunately, due to a hectic Blue Flag season, the survey was actually conducted within a smaller time period (approximately 15-20 days). In total, 1151 beach and marina managers from 33 countries participated in the survey: Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine and Wales. A manager often manages more than one Blue Flag beach or marina, but counts as one answer in our results, since we surveyed the managers, and not the sites. Beach and marina managers who participated in this survey will be referred to as “respondents” throughout this document. We wish to thank all those who took the time to answer the survey. 2 1. RATIO OF ANSWERS BETWEEN BEACHES AND MARINAS Among the 3,600 Blue Flag sites in 2011, there were approximately 600 marinas and 3000 beaches. Thus, most of the answers of this survey come from beach managers (80%). Number of beach and marina managers who answered the survey per country 180 160 140 Marina Beach 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Italy Malta Brazil Spain Wales Ireand Jordan Russia Turkey France Cyprus Croatia Iceland Greece Norway Turks &… Ukraine Canada Sweden Bulgaria England Portugal Morocco Slovenia Northern… Scotland Belgium-… Denmark Lithuania Germany Puerto Rico Montenegro Netherlands 3 “Over 40% of all Blue Flag sites joined the programme more than 10 years ago – a long-term commitment to the environment” 2. HISTORY OF THE BLUE FLAG PROGRAMME In many countries Blue Flag has been a well-established eco-label for a long time. Over 40% of the respondents’ sites (marinas or beaches) joined the Blue Flag programme more than 10 years ago. This indicates the long-term commitment to the Blue Flag programme of many municipalities and public or private marinas worldwide. Almost one third of the respondents’ sites joined the programme between 5 and 10 years ago. The remaining third started to implement the programme less than 5 years ago. When did your beach / marina first join the Blue Flag programme?* 7% More than 10 years 23% 41% Less than 10 years Less than 5 years It's the first year 29% *Status: 2011 Being awarded the Blue Flag is not only a long-term commitment for many beaches or marinas in general, but also for the managers who implement the programme. Almost one quarter of all beach and marina managers have been involved in the Blue Flag programme for more than 10 years and in total, over half of them were part of Blue Flag for more than 5 years. This shows that once awarded the Blue Flag, it may evolve into being an integral part of the management of a site. 4 “Its reputation alone is an incentive to be awarded the Blue Flag” 3. THE BENEFITS OF BLUE FLAG To be awarded the Blue Flag, a big effort has to be made and often the managers face a lot of difficulties which have to be solved before being awarded. However, overcoming the difficulties is worthwhile. Flying the Blue Flag brings many advantages as the following results will show. According to more than half of the respondents, the major benefit of being involved in the Blue Flag programme is that it is the biggest international eco-label for beaches and marinas in the world. This indicates that its reputation alone is an incentive to be awarded the Blue Flag. This recognition, however, is not only a status for Blue Flag International but also a commitment to continuously improve the programme and the criteria for beaches and marinas to ensure best- environmental practices. The second biggest benefit of being involved in the programme for the respondents are the environmental benefits for their beaches and marinas. Today, more and more tourists try to make “greener” decisions during their holidays - this is an important consideration which will not only make the site more environmentally-friendly but may also attract more tourists. Furthermore, not only are the beaches and marinas being awarded, but the hard work of the managers and their teams to make their sites comply with the criteria is also been recognised. Almost half of the respondents see the Blue Flag as a symbol of recognition for their efforts to make more environmentally-friendly decisions and to make their sites safe and enjoyable for all its users. Along with all the benefits listed above the economic benefits also play a major role. What are the benefits for being involved in the Blue Flag programme? (more than one answer is possible) 80 % 70 % 60 % 72 % 68 % 50 % 55 % 40 % 42 % 30 % 20 % 25 % 10 % 0 % It is a good incentive It rewards the efforts It is the biggest The economic The environmental for the beach / of the management international eco- benefits are benefits are marina manager team label for beaches and important important marinas 5 “80% of the respondents share the opinion that the Blue Flag helps to influence decision-making” Furthermore, Blue Flag is not only well-recognised by tourists but also by the municipalities. According to 80% of the respondents, the Blue Flag helps to support improvements and influence decision making within the municipality. To the question “How?” the majority of the respondents answered that the Blue Flag helps to obtain financial support from the municipalities for different kinds of improvements, for example improvement of the drainage systems, the implementation of disabled facilities, etc. In addition, the Blue Flag is also seen as a stimulus for improving the environmental quality at the awarded sites. Does having (or aiming to achieve) Blue Flag help support improvements and influence decision making within your municipality? 20% Yes No 80% 6 4. BLUE FLAG CRITERIA Most of the time, before the Blue Flag can be raised a beach or marina may have to go through many changes. Furthermore, the management may have to consider a lot of new issues which weren’t previously part of their daily agenda. As Blue Flag is a truly international eco-label, the problems of implementing the programme may also vary greatly from country to country. When respondents were asked which of the four main criteria groups Environmental Education, Environmental Management, Safety and Services and Water Quality were the most difficult to comply with the respondents pointed mostly at the Environmental Education criteria. The reason for this might be that the awareness-raising about environmental issues is not an everyday activity beach or marina managers have to deal with. However, it is an integral part of the Blue Flag programme which promotes environmental-good practices not only among the operators of the beaches and marinas but also among their users. Furthermore, to facilitate the implementation of the Environmental Education criteria Blue Flag continuously works on developing a broad range of tools for its members, e.g. guides, seminars or the exchange of best-practices. The other three groups of criteria were evaluated more or less the same. Less than one quarter of the respondents thought that it is difficult to comply with the criteria concerning Environmental Management, Safety and Services and Water Quality. The main reasons for the non- compliance mentioned were: Managers or municipality might not always be able to influence some issues The lack of interest in environmental issues within other stakeholders or the public makes Vandalism Which of the Blue Flag criteria do you find difficult to achieve? 45 % 40 % 42 % 35 % 30 % 25 % 25 % 24 % 20 % 22 % 15 % 10 % 5 % 0 % Environmental Water Quality Environmental Safety and Education and management Services Information 7 “More than one quarter of all respondents have experienced an increase in local and international tourism since their site has been awarded the Blue Flag” 5. IMPACT OF BLUE FLAG ON TOURISM Obtaining a Blue Flag for a site has many advantages. One major advantage is the contribution to local tourism. After being awarded the Blue Flag, 27% responded with “yes, definitely” to observing an increase in local tourism to their Blue Flag sites. In addition, 26% percent have also noted an increase to the question in international tourists visiting their beaches or marinas. However, these were subjective answers of the respondents and further research would be necessary to prove the effect more objectively. In your experience, has there been an increase in local tourists visiting your beach/marina since you got the Blue Flag? 19% 27% Yes, definitely Maybe No 54% In your experience, has there been an increase in international tourists visiting your beach/marina since you got the Blue Flag? 19% 26% Yes, definitely Maybe No 55% 8 “Three quarter of the beach and marina managers use the Blue Flag as a marketing tool” 6. BLUE FLAG MARKETING Once the Blue Flag status has been achieved most of the beach or marina manager fly it with pride. 75% of all respondents stated that they use the Blue Flag as a marketing tool to promote their sites. This shows the relevance of the eco-label as it is looked upon as an award worth showing to the public.