According to SCTIE, this is the highest number in the province and “two of these have been honoured for their longevity in the programme”.
“Marina has been honoured for 21 consecutive years within the programme — the only beach in South Africa to have achieved this — while Trafalgar Beach was honoured for 11 consecutive years, shared by only two other beaches in the country.
“In addition to these, five beaches have been awarded pilot Blue Flag status -- Pennington, Rocky Bay, Preston and Umthwalume in the Umdoni Municipality, as well as St Michael’s in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality,” said Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of SCTIE.
“With Blue Flag status and safe bathing conditions, the KZN south coast is officially #SummerReady to welcome holidaymakers this festive season.”
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Six KZN south coast beaches maintain Blue Flag status
Image: Supplied by SCTIE
The KwaZulu-Natal south coast says it's all systems go for the festive season as six of its beaches have retained their Blue Flag status.
South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise (SCTIE) said on Friday another five attained pilot Blue Flag status and are working towards achieving the accolade.
The internationally recognised Blue Flag programme is an eco-award given to beaches that meet strict standards of excellence in safety, cleanliness, provision of amenities, environmental information and management.
This comes as the eThekwini municipality has been opening and shutting its beaches based on E.coli levels caused mainly by malfunctioning water infrastructure.
Marina, Trafalgar Beach, Southport, Umzumbe, Ramsgate and Hibberdene beaches — all in the Ray Nkonyeni municipality — will remain Blue Flag Beaches for the 2022/2023 season.
eThekwini ‘on track for a bumper festive season’ in spite of challenges
According to SCTIE, this is the highest number in the province and “two of these have been honoured for their longevity in the programme”.
“Marina has been honoured for 21 consecutive years within the programme — the only beach in South Africa to have achieved this — while Trafalgar Beach was honoured for 11 consecutive years, shared by only two other beaches in the country.
“In addition to these, five beaches have been awarded pilot Blue Flag status -- Pennington, Rocky Bay, Preston and Umthwalume in the Umdoni Municipality, as well as St Michael’s in Ray Nkonyeni Municipality,” said Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of SCTIE.
“With Blue Flag status and safe bathing conditions, the KZN south coast is officially #SummerReady to welcome holidaymakers this festive season.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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