Racó de Mar beach in Canet d'en Berenguer: earns the 'S' for tourist sustainability
Racó de Mar beach in Canet d'en Berenguer, a neighbouring town of Sagunto, earns the ICTES 'S' for Tourist Sustainability. Only 23 other Valencian beaches out of 340 hold it.
Racó de Mar beach, in Canet d'en Berenguer, now carries the 'S' for Tourist Sustainability, a distinction from the Institute for Spanish Tourism Quality and Sustainability (ICTES). According to figures from Canet town council, only 23 other beaches out of the 340 in the Valencian Community hold it. For residents of Sagunto and Puerto de Sagunto (the coastal district), who share the Camp de Morvedre district with Canet, it means a nearby stretch of coast joins a very small group of beaches with a sustainability accreditation.
The label does not measure just one thing. It assesses how the beach is run from start to finish: the lifeguard and rescue service, access for people with reduced mobility, water quality control, resource consumption and waste treatment. Several of these measures are tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Earning it took more than a year of work to show that the beach meets the requirements.
The 'S' joins three other credentials. Racó de Mar has held the Blue Flag for 35 years; in June 2026, according to elperiodicodeaqui.com, the beach renewed it for the 35th consecutive edition. It also has the 'Q' for Tourist Quality, which that same report said it had held for eleven years, and the Qualitur certificate, awarded by Turisme Comunitat Valenciana. All of these apply to a beach 1,250 metres long and about 60 metres wide.
Tourism matters to Canet's economy. According to the Catalan-language Wikipedia, the town's main activity today centres on this sector, which has gained strong momentum thanks to Racó de Mar beach.
The mayor, Pere Antoni, said he was pleased and shared the credit between the council's technical staff and the support of Canet residents. The council adds that the result comes from coordination between administrations, municipal services and the businesses operating on the beach.
Canet has been installing smart buoys for years to monitor how its coastline changes. Together with three-dimensional models, this technology provides data on the effects of storms and on the erosion processes along the shore. The project has won two awards at the Good Municipal Governance Awards of the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP), the latest one this year.
The council presents the 'S' as part of a tourism management model that aims to balance the arrival of visitors with the conservation of the coastal environment. According to El Periódico de Aquí, with additional data from Wikipedia and from an earlier report by elperiodicodeaqui.com.