Written question WQ84827

We recognise the importance of the Blue Flag which is one of the world’s most recognised voluntary awards for beach quality. Wales is renowned internationally as having some of the best beaches in Europe: as well as our 45 blue flag beaches, there are 13 beaches in Wales which have gained the Green Coast Award recognising the ‘hidden gems’ along our coastline, and a further 25 have achieved the Seaside Award for their good water quality and facilities.

Visit Wales promotes our excellent blue flag beaches on their website and social media. We support investment in essential facilities at our beaches through funding programmes such as Brilliant Basics, which enables public, third sector and not-for-profit organisations to deliver small-scale tourism infrastructure improvements. The monitoring and testing of bathing water quality during the bathing season is a priority programme for the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales. In 2021, for the fourth consecutive year Wales met 100 per cent bathing water quality compliance standards, with 85 of the 105 bathing waters achieving a classification of ‘excellent’.