TRAVEL SPAIN

Spain has been awarded a total of 527 Blue Flags, 455 are for beaches and 72 for Marinas in 2008 and still has some of the best beaches in Spain.

According to the information released by ( Adeac - The association of Environmental Education for the Consumer ) this slight decline in blue flags is due to the new stricter controls which came into force recently and relates to water quality , the drought and heavy summer rainfalls of 2007 also left its affect on some areas.

According to Jose R.Sanchez of Adeac, the torrential downpours carried materials down from urban areas, dry river beds which has affected swimming water quality.

61 beaches in total lost there Blue Flag status, 22 in Galicia, 15 in Andalucia, 7 from Valencia, 6 in the Pais Vasco, 4 each from Cantabriaand Asturias and 3 in the Canaries.

The famous Poniente beach in Benidorm lost its blue flag status this year his year because of the extensive work being carried out on the � paseo maritime� sea front.

The most beaches with this prestigious award for 288 are located in Catalonia with 112, followed by
Galicia with an impressive 105, Valencia with 100, the Balearic Islands with 84, Andalucia now has a total of 59, 27 in the Canaries and Murcia with 23.

Spain continues to be the world leader with its Blue Flag beaches and Marinas and shows its continuing dedication in helping to insure the quality of its tourism installations remain an important priority for all the governments, local councils and tourism board alike.

The international expo will take place in Zaragoza and run from the 14th June to the 14th September, with the theme being Water and Sustainable Development.

Universal Expositions are held every 5 years on a site with no area limitations. They last 6 months and address a general theme, this one being water.

I had the great fortune to visit the last major expo of this type held in Seville in southern Spain during 1992 and it was quite fantastic. I was there for a whole week and still never go see all the amazing pavilions, shows and other attractions, if Zaragoza can achieve the high standards set by Seville it will be a must stop over for all visitors and residents of Spain this summer.

The first international exposition took place in London in 1851. Since its success, numerous expositions have been held all over the world, including the Paris Exposition of 1889, which gave birth to the Eiffel Tower. As these events increased in number, it was decided that an official body to oversee the events was needed and thus the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) was created in 1928.

Zaragoza is situated some 250 kms north east of Madrid and approximately the same distance is Barcelona which lays to the south east on the coast of Spain.



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Zaragoza is one of the great monumental towns in Spain. It was founded some 2000 years ago, Old-Iberians, Romans, Goths and Arabians equally left their heritage and mark on the region. Zaragoza as well includes important buildings of Spanish baroque.

Tickets are on sale via the official ticket office , also official merchandising , gifts, stationary and other items can be purchased via the Expo Shop.