Friday , March 29 2024

Zakynthos: Antonis Nikoloudakis | Katragaki beach-Eleon Grand Resort, is this year the only one on the beach with a blue flag

Vice-Chairman of the Tourism Committee of the Municipality of Zakynthos.

 

A total of 497 Greek coasts have won “Blue Flags” an international quality award this year, Greece is ranked 2nd in the world, among 47 countries. The announcements of the awards were made by the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (EEPF), National Operator of the International Program “Blue Flag” in our country. In Zakynthos this year, Kato tragaki-Eleon Grand Resort beach is the only beach that was awarded a blue flag.

 

I was personally involved as an individual and did all the procedures required to get the blue flag beach next door to my hotel. There is nothing strange about this case. The regulation says that in addition to the Municipality, every individual who has an activity on a beach can proceed with the planned procedures to receive a blue flag. The cost, in my opinion, is minimal and certainly insignificant in the face of the value of a blue flag. The annual fee is 450 euros and the maintenance cost is one thousand one hundred euros. In any case, the acquisition of a blue flag is a matter of personal assessment of each interested party.

Two years ago, I suggested to fellow hotel owners to take over the management of the blue flags, but we did not discuss the issue again.

 

The current municipal authority is not responsible for the fact that the island does not have blue flags. In July 2019, the relevant request had to be submitted by the competent services of the Municipality, in the program of the blue flags. So the responsibility lies with the previous municipal authority. I resigned from the tourism committee a year ago, in 2018. That’s exactly why I saw that the then municipal authority was not interested. The services of our Municipality did not work last summer, due to the election period and the transitional situation that followed.

 

Our goal now is 2021. Zakynthos has the opportunity to become the first in the Ionian Islands in blue flags and if we want to achieve it, our Municipality will have to submit the relevant requests next July. It is a matter of will and claim. Unfortunately, I am no longer in charge, the management of the blue flags does not fall under the responsibility of the Tourism Committee of the Municipality, it has been assigned to the Deputy Mayor Mr. Kapsabelis. It will be a huge defeat for Zakynthos to lose the blue flags for another year.

 

I submitted my proposals to the Mayor from September 2019. Unfortunately, I estimate that the services of the Municipality have convinced the Municipal Authority that we have no hope of getting the blue flags. I am referring to the services of the Personnel, the Environment and the Technical services. These services were not up to the task last year.

 

I think that every day that passes, the climate for the upcoming tourist season improves. Let’s not be devastated. We will certainly have significant losses, but we are determined to open up and fight over the new data we have due to the coronavirus.

for full story in Greek click on source:- https://zantetimes.gr

About Louise Inzk

Louise is Australian born and has been a Greek citizen since 1991. She has deep cultural ties with the island, often writing about Zakynthian Traditions and Culture. She is also an active member of the Volunteer Group of Zakynthos, Giostra Di Zante and is a member of the women's choir "Rodambelos". Her love of the island and all it offers saw her joining the Zakynthos (Zante) Informer admin team in 2014.

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