ABSTRACT
The Blue Flag (BF) program is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2015–2030 and aim to promote sustainability in the tourism sector. However, little is known about the actual contribution of BF awards to the overall accomplishment of the SDGs. This work aims to assess the contribution of BF-awarded beaches to the achievement of the SDGs. For this purpose, the criteria for BF awarding are revised and a set of BF-awarded beaches around the world are used as a case study. The results indicate that BFs contribute positively to most of the SDGs, although there is scope to enhance the actions developed at BF-awarded beaches to improve mainly their socioeconomic impact. These results provide a detailed assessment of the current situation of some of the BF-awarded beaches and show the significance of the BF certification as a way to meet the SDGs. They are used for the proposal of key indicators to measure the contribution of BF-awarded beaches to each of the 17 SDGs, which can serve as a basis for decision-makers to develop further actions to improve the contribution of beaches to the SDGs.
