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L'Alfàs shares the 'Sustainable Village of the Year' award with the public.

 

L'Alfàs del Pi has been recognised in the third edition of the Sustainable of the Year Awards, an initiative of Prensa Ibérica and Diario Información that seeks to recognize and highlight the cultural, tourism, and sustainable development of the province's municipalities. It gives a voice to those who work daily to maintain their essence while moving toward the future.

The City Council of l'Alfàs del Pi wanted to share this award with the citizens and thank them for their support in the voting process, in a meeting that took place yesterday afternoon at the Espai Cultural Escoles Velles, coinciding with the commemoration of the 189th anniversary of the birth of l'Alfàs del Pi as a municipality, following its segregation from the Barony of Polop, which took place on April 16, 1836.

With 3,611 votes, l'Alfàs del Pi won the Sustainable of the Year Award, a prize it was nominated for alongside the municipalities of Mutxamel and Santa Pola. The readers of Diario Información, with their votes, chose the winning municipalities.

The nine finalists selected for this edition were Sella, Castalla, and Castell de Castells in the 'Cultural' category; Biar, Pilar de la Horadada, and Relleu in the 'Tourist' category; and l'Alfàs del Pi, Mutxamel, and Santa Pola in the 'Sustainable' category. Finally, through popular vote, with a total of 14,297 votes, readers chose what they considered the best town of the year in each of the categories: L'Alfàs del Pi (Sustainable), Biar (Tourist), and Sella (Cultural).

L'Alfàs del Pi, a benchmark for healthy and sustainable tourism

L'Alfàs del Pi is the European municipality with the most Blue Flag Centers, natural spaces restored and converted for outreach, recreation, and sustainable development. Six environmental quality certificates have been awarded by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education – Environmental Education Foundation (ADEAC-FEE), which is responsible for Blue Flag programs in Spain.

The six centers awarded the blue award are: the Faro de l'Albir Environmental Interpretation Center; the Los Carrascos Environmental and Landscape Interpretation Center; the La Antigua Cantera Environmental Interpretation Center; the Los Carabineros Environmental Education Center; the Villa Romana de l'Albir Open-Air Museum; and the Escoles Velles Cultural Space. Six of these centers have been awarded the award in recognition of excellence in their management. These spaces, which were of great heritage value and were in a state of disrepair, completely abandoned, and therefore nonexistent, are now examples for other municipalities to follow.

In addition to these six Blue Centers, l'Alfàs del Pi has also received the Blue Flag for Racó de l'Albir beach and the Blue Trail award for the path to the Lighthouse, one of the most visited routes in the Valencian Community's Network of Natural Areas.

All these awards are the result of municipal management that prioritises environmental, economic, and social perspectives, with the aim of consolidating l'Alfàs del Pi as a healthy and sustainable international benchmark. This management has been endorsed by the granting of two Sustainable Tourism Destination Plans, which include initiatives totaling €4,443,000, as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, financed by the European Union through Next Generation EU funds .