The eco-label has become an international symbol of quality recognized by tourists and tour operators around the world and is used for the promotion of the awarded beach, marina, or destination. The program is currently operating in 41 countries and counts approximately 3500 Blue Flag Beaches and Marinas.
Associated criteria is designed to work with the national, regional and local legislation of each country, thereby assuring that the legislation is being followed, it can also be used to set a benchmark higher than that which already exists.
The Blue Flag eco-label is owned and coordinated internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in Denmark. Environmental Protection In the Caribbean (EPIC) was accepted by FEE as the program's National Operator in 2008 and has been working towards establishing Blue Flag locations on St. Maarten with the support of the Sint Maarten Tourist Bureau for the past 2 years. EPIC successfully proposed the beach at Divi Little Bay and the facilities at Lagoon Marina in Cole Bay as St. Maarten's Blue Flag Pilot locations in 2009.
Jan Eriksen the Foundation for Environmental Education's (FEE) President and Finn Bolden Thomsen, FEE's Director, visited St. Maarten to meet with EPIC, Blue Flag Pilot location managers and other Stakeholders late last month. The FEE representatives inspected Pilot Location Little Bay Beach at Divi Resorts and determined that the Beach was well on its way to meeting Blue Flag criteria and could obtain full Blue Flag Beach status as early as October of this year.
The Facilities at Lagoon Marina were inspected and although the Marina itself is well on its way to meeting Blue Flag criteria, the area is plagued by the tremendous amount of untreated sewage which runs into the Simpson Bay Lagoon from surrounding neighborhoods.
Meetings were also held with the Management of Island Global Yachting who have expressed an initial interest in participating in the Blue Flag program. FEE was impressed with Isle de Sol's facilities and determined that the marina would be able to skip the pilot phase and reach full Blue Flag status later this year if management opts to join the program and the marina makes minor but necessary adjustments in order to meet Blue Flag Criteria.
Foundation representatives have held regular meetings with stakeholders and attended several international Blue Flag meetings over the past few years and are confident that with the continued support of the Minister of Tourism, the Tourist Bureau and the dedication of Blue Flag Pilot locations St. Maarten will be the first Country in the Dutch Caribbean to obtain Blue Flag status. The program will be publicly launched later this month.