21.05.2026 11:00
Turkey maintained its third place in the world in Blue Flag rankings in 2026 with 580 beaches, 30 marinas, 18 tourism boats, and 26 individual yachts. Drawing attention with investments including new public beaches and Türkbükü, Turkey sustained its strong position in the Mediterranean with environmental standards and safe tourism infrastructure. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that they have expanded the Blue Flag map with new public beaches.
Turkey once again demonstrated its steady rise in sustainable tourism and environmentally focused coastal management to the world with the 2026 Blue Flag results. Maintaining its third place in the world for Blue Flags, Turkey further solidified its position among the strongest countries in the "blue competition" in the Mediterranean with its growing beach network, international-standard public beaches, and new investments.
According to the 2026 Blue Flag awards announced by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), the number of Blue Flag beaches across Turkey increased from 577 to 580. Turkey once again became the world's third most successful country in the beach category, following Spain and Greece.
Evaluating the results shared with the public by the Turkish Environmental Education Foundation (TÜRÇEV) in İzmir Foça, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy emphasized that they continue to expand Turkey's Blue Flag map with new public beaches. Stating that Turkey's coasts have now become a global brand, Ersoy stated that the Bodrum Türkbükü Free Entrance Public Beach will also fly the Blue Flag for the first time this year.
Thanking stakeholder institutions such as the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Ministry of Health, Minister Ersoy used the following statements in his social media post:
“Our beaches are now a world brand! We have once again maintained our third place in the world for Blue Flags. In 2026, 580 beaches, 30 marinas, 18 tourism boats, and 26 individual yachts have been awarded the Blue Flag. Thus, Turkey has once again certified its strong position in environmental standards, safe tourism infrastructure, and sustainable coastal management on an international scale. While continuing our strong rise in the blue competition in the Mediterranean, we continue to expand our free-entry public beaches to international standards. This year, our Bodrum Türkbükü Public Beach has also joined our Blue Flag public beaches. With new public beach projects, we will further expand Turkey's Blue Flag map. I thank TÜRÇEV, all our stakeholder institutions, local governments, and our tourism sector for their contributions to this success.”
NEW PUBLIC BEACHES STRENGTHEN THE BLUE GROWTH
The new public beach projects previously shared with the public by Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy are among the important steps of Turkey's "blue" growth vision.
Minister Ersoy had announced to the public that, together with the new free-entry public beaches under construction in Bitlis Adilcevaz, Sinop İnceburun, and Samsun Yakakent, the Ministry aims to increase the number of public beaches implemented with the 5-star concept to 23 by the end of 2026. Ersoy emphasized that they will continue to raise environmental management, safety, cleanliness, and service quality at the public beaches, which citizens use free of charge, to international standards.
The free-entry public beaches implemented in line with this vision became one of the highlights in the 2026 Blue Flag list. Public beaches in Antalya: Sorgun, Ilıca, Belek, Kadriye, Lara 1, Lara 2, Beldibi Bahçecik, Çifteçeşmeler, Çamyuva, and Tekirova; in Muğla: Marmaris Public Beach, Bodrum İçmeler Public Beach, and Türkbükü Public Beach, which entered the list for the first time this year, were awarded the Blue Flag. Thus, the Ministry's free-entry public beaches implemented with the 5-star concept have become one of the strongest parts of Turkey's international-standard 'blue' coastal network.
TURKEY MAINTAINS ITS TOP POSITION IN THE BLUE RACE
Turkey once again became the world's third most successful country in the beach category, following Spain and Greece. Turkey also maintained its fourth place in the world in the tourism boat category. According to the 2026 Blue Flag results, 580 beaches, 30 marinas, 18 tourism boats, and 26 individual yachts in Turkey have been awarded the Blue Flag.
Within the scope of the program coordinated by TÜRÇEV in Turkey, many criteria such as swimming water quality, environmental management, life safety, disabled access, waste management, and environmental education are monitored through international audit processes.
ANTALYA COASTS STILL LEAD
Antalya continued to be the province with the most Blue Flag beaches in Turkey in 2026, with 232 beaches. Muğla ranked second with 113 beaches, and İzmir third with 60 beaches. Balıkesir with 45, Aydın with 39, Samsun with 19, Çanakkale with 14, Mersin with 12, Tekirdağ with 10, and Kocaeli with 9 Blue Flag beaches were among the prominent provinces in the list. In the list where Bursa has 4 beaches; İstanbul, Sakarya, Düzce, Bartın, and Ordu each have 3, Yalova and Zonguldak each have 2, and Kırklareli, Van, Adana, and Sinop each have 1 Blue Flag beach.
In 2026 across Turkey, the number of Blue Flag marinas was 30, tourism boats 18, and individual yachts 26, while with environmentally focused tourism investments, Turkey's international brand power in coastal tourism continued to grow.
The list of beaches awarded the Blue Flag in 2026 can be accessed at mavibayrak.org.tr.