ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the impact of Blue Flag labels in the efficiency of French tourist destinations. First, the context of Blue Flag and its impact on tourism is presented and discussed by using the literature review devoted to this topic. Then Blue Flag certification is connected to tourism attraction theory and a methodological framework based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is mobilized. More precisely, several kind of production technologies are considered in order to deal with Blue Flag and to analyze its impact on destination efficiency. The empirical application is based on the 13 French tourist destinations at the regional scale. Finally, policy implications and managerial recommendations for decision-makers are derived from the findings.
