The municipality of Yaiza celebrated on the morning of this Tuesday, July 1, the official ceremony of raising the blue flags awarded one more year by the Association of Environmental Education and Consumer (ADEAC) to the small beach of the town of Playa Blanca and the marina of Puerto Calero, in recognition of its compliance with the criteria of water quality, safety, accessibility, environmental management and services. In the case of Puerto Calero, this is the thirtieth consecutive Blue Flag.
The institutional day began in the southern marina, where the mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, and the councilors of Beaches and Environment, Beatriz Vázquez and Águeda Cedrés, respectively, congratulated the president of the Calero Marinas group, José Calero, and the director of the facility in Puerto Calero, Alejandro Betancor, for this thirtieth consecutive Blue Flag before proceeding to the symbolic ceremony of its raising. “Maintaining this recognition for three consecutive decades requires a great effort that is worthy of recognition”, noted the southern mayor, “and endorses the environmental, technical and operational commitment of the marina, as well as its excellence in nautical services”.
For his part, José Calero, confirmed that “the criteria required by the organization that grants the Blue Flag are increasingly demanding every year”, but the "marina's commitment to sustainability and tourism excellence is firm".
Subsequently, the municipal delegation moved to the small beach of the tourist center of Playa Blanca to do the same with its Blue Flag 2025-2026, which revalidates the award as recognition of its environmental quality, accessibility and services, thus concluding the institutional celebration. “This recognition is not only a distinctive of tourist excellence, but also a reflection of the municipal commitment to the sustainable management of the coastline, accessibility and environmental education”, highlights Óscar Noda, and adds that “Yaiza will continue working to maintain these recognitions, integrating environmental respect with the development of its tourist offer”.
The Councilor for Beaches, Beatriz Vázquez, values “the joint effort of all the areas involved to maintain the standards required by this distinction” and thanks “the involvement of municipal staff, cleaning, lifeguard and security services, as well as the private sector and citizens”.
For her part, Águeda Cedrés, who in addition to the Environment holds the Area of Citizen Participation, remarks that “revalidating the Blue Flag means demonstrating continuity in water quality, care for the environment and environmental awareness, in addition to the provision of required infrastructure” and, in this sense, announces that “very soon we will further improve these infrastructures in response to the citizen request in the Participatory Budgets of 2024”, recalling that the second most voted proposal was the realization of improvements on this beach.
Improvements planned in the small beach of Blanca Blanca
Among the actions planned in the small urban beach of the tourist town of Playa Blanca, charged to the Participatory Budgets of 2024, include both improvements in the facilities and in the services offered to the user.
Among others, stone finishes will be made on vertical walls and pavements affected by wear and erosion, relocation of waste containers and introduction of smart bins with compaction and filling monitoring systems or the demolition of the ceramic panel on the stone wall that obstructs the view to the sea, transferring the information to one of the three information tables that will be installed and that will also include historical, environmental, tourist and geographical content.
Also the rationalization of showers in line with European water saving policies, replacement of the lifeguard's closet and the wooden porch with a light stainless steel structure and improvement of the surveillance post, among others.