Blue Flag Best Environmental Education Activities Award for Setur Marinas Yalova, Ayvalık and Kaş.

Setur Marinas Yalova received an important award for its outstanding performance in the Marmara Region in the field of sustainability and environmental protection.

Ayşe Akdoğan, Setur Marinas Yalova Front Office Representative

The Blue Flag is a globally recognized award for sustainable marine tourism that aims to promote clean seas and sustainable tourism. This award is only given to marinas that meet a series of criteria such as protection of marine and coastal areas, water quality, environmental management, safety, education and social responsibility.

"Environmental education activities", which is a very important topic in Blue Flag criteria, has a special place for TÜRÇEV. Since the protection of the standard achieved with the Blue Flag can only be ensured with a conscious and responsible environmental awareness, the applicants who complete the environmental education activities in the best way are presented the "Best Environmental Education Activities Award" by a special jury of TÜRÇEV every year.

Known for its commitment to environmental protection and sustainability principles, Setur Marinas has won the Blue Flag Award for Best Environmental Education Activities many times, one of the clearest proofs of this commitment. In 2011, Kaş marina received this award as soon as it opened and repeated the same success three times in the following years and was joined by Ayvalık marina in the following years. At last year's award ceremony in Alanya, two of the three awards in the 'marinas' category went to these two marinas. This year, Yalova Marina was added to the list. And it is ranked as the first marina in the Marmara Region to win the Blue Flag Best Environmental Education Activities Award!

The fact that Yalova Setur Marinas received the Blue Flag award for the first time in the Marmara Region is a sign of the state of environmental protection and sustainable tourism efforts in the region, and even a turning point in this regard. In 2023, Yalova marina, which stands out with its sustainability efforts and environmentally friendly practices, plays an exemplary role in the region in terms of the environment with its work on awareness, social responsibility and comprehensive environmental education activities such as wastewater management, electric vehicle charging station facilities, waste management, recycling and nature cleaning activities. Undoubtedly, this award will highlight the positive impact of marinas on the environment and inspire other businesses to adopt environmentally friendly practices.

Setur Marinas continues to carry out its activities with the goal of leaving a clean and healthy marine environment for future generations, and continuously makes improvements to minimize the environmental impact of its marinas. Our wish is that such efforts will continue to increase and spread to all coasts of our country.

Photographs: Süleyman Ercan, Yeliz Pınar