Deciding on a new destination for your next holiday is both exciting and difficult. The prospect of discovering new and wonderful places is set against the worry of potentially being disappointed with your choice of location. Travel brochures have pages of tempting pictures of beautiful scenery and attractive descriptions and the resorts themselves use all kinds of marketing strategies to attract as many visitors as possible. As part of this promotion you may have heard some resorts describe their beaches as "blue flag", but what does that actually mean?

The Blue Flag scheme is voluntary initiative run by the Foundation for Environmental Education, a non-profit organisation. The scheme started in France back in 1985 when coastal areas of France were awarded the eco-label status for their water quality and sewage treatment performance. Fourteen years on and the scheme is now international, covering more than 37 countries with over 3200 areas having been awarded Blue Flag credentials. There are over eighty Blue Flag beaches in the UK but, surprisingly, the USA and Australia are yet to sign up to the initiative.

Portugal is a big adopter of the programme with almost 200 beaches throughout the country and the Algarve qualifying, as is Spain with over 500 beaches such as those in Mallorca covered by the Blue Flag label. Greece is another country with plenty of award winners with over 400 beaches listed, (over 100 in Crete). The latest list of Blue Flag awards is due to be published Summer 09 and we are expecting a big increase in participation as holiday resorts realise the importance of this worthwhile eco-label.