This is the third consecutive year it has held the title, Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, head of the Paphos regional board of tourism, told the Cyprus Mail.

This is the third time that the entire coastal area including, Paphos, Kissonerga, Chlorakas, Geroskipou, Peyia, Polis Chrysochous and Neo Chorio has achieved quality coast status.

“The award was achieved with the cooperation of all of the Paphos municipalities and communities of the region, under the coordination of the Paphos regional board of tourism,” he said.

The tourism board also made the submission made for the region, and the accolade comes after 16 Blue Flags were awarded across the district.

The prestigious award is handed out to holiday destinations that best maintain their local identity, natural and cultural heritage, scenic beauty and a clean environment.

Quality coast awards will be presented between September 25-27 in Nijmegen, Netherlands to winning destinations, he said.

“We are pleased that Paphos has again been honoured and managed to secure the Gold Quality Award for 2018,” he said.

Quality coast is the largest international certification programme for sustainable tourism destinations.

Since 2007, more than 125 tourist destinations in 23 countries have been selected for awards, including coastal towns, resorts and islands.

“Paphos has remained a top and popular destination for visitors that want to experience areas of astonishing natural beauty, picturesque beaches and rare vegetation, which is found in much of Polis Chrysochous and Neo Chorio.”

He noted that the main criteria for the selection of areas are: water cleanliness, biodiversity, environment, active good environmental behaviour – such as the saving of natural resources – socioeconomic status, cultural heritage, lack of air pollution, noise levels, quality of tourism infrastructure, security, accessibility and easy access to information.

Source: Cyprus Mail