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Beach Management

The Malta Tourism Authority supports beach management through quality certification schemes like Blue Flag, lifeguard services, accessibility improvements, and promotional efforts.

Working with local councils and national agencies, MTA helps ensure Maltese beaches remain clean, safe, and welcoming for visitors, while promoting sustainable and responsible tourism practices year-round.

 
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Blue Flag Beaches

The Blue Flag is an international quality award granted to beaches that meet strict standards in water quality, safety, services, and sustainable management. Awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and represented locally by Nature Trust Malta, the programme requires compliance with 32 criteria, including the organisation of environmental activities.

Malta earned its first Blue Flag in 2009 for St George’s Bay, which has maintained the award every year since. By 2019, twelve beaches in the Maltese Islands held Blue Flag status, including Hondoq ir-Rummien and Marsalforn in Gozo.

The Malta Tourism Authority manages nine beaches and supports eight more, including those in Gozo and Comino. Two additional Blue Flag beaches are operated by private resorts. All award-winning beaches must fully meet the programme’s criteria.

 
 

Sustainable Beach Management

Managing beaches sustainably adds value to tourism while protecting natural environments. The Maltese Islands attract nearly one million tourists annually for sun, sea and leisure, placing pressure on limited coastal areas – especially sandy beaches – through day and night activities.

To promote sustainability, annual initiatives include cleanups, nature walks, snorkeling events and educational campaigns for children. Beach users are engaged through activities like waste separation games, creative workshops and environmental awareness drives.

Seasonal campaigns tackle littering, promote the use of ashtrays, raise UV safety awareness and encourage reading on the beach. In winter, beach infrastructure is removed for maintenance, and natural processes like seagrass buildup are allowed to support marine biodiversity.

Litter-free Beaches

To encourage proper waste disposal and support cleaner coastlines, colour-coded bins are provided on many beaches as part of the Litter-Free Beaches initiative. Each bin compartment is matched with a liner of the same colour to make separation intuitive for users. Black liners are for organic waste, yellow for metals, red for glass, and blue for plastics. This system helps reduce litter, supports recycling efforts, and promotes environmentally responsible behaviour among both tourists and locals.

 

Accessibility on Beaches

Having additional accessible beaches is once again a priority for the MTA. More wooden pathways are being assembled on rural beaches, new carpet walkways, additional sand buggies that can take wheelchair bound persons on the sand and additional hoist chairs are being assembled to provide better access to the sea.

The Safety Flag System

The safety flag system has been adjusted to conform to the new system of the International Lifesaving Federation, being in use worldwide.

The flags are in a rectangular form and the colours indicate the following:

  • Red over yellow flag demarcates the lifesaving boundary
  • Green is for calm water
  • Yellow for medium hazard
  • Purple indicates the presence of pests (such as stinging jellyfish)
  • Red is for high hazard
  • Double red indicates that the water is closed to the public and the lifeguards may not risk their lives to enter rough seas
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