Benefits for the QualityCoast Destinations

One programme for the whole community territory
The QualityCoast policy awards recognize qualities and efforts toward sustainability in the whole territory of the community: a town, a small region or an island. The Award gives the right to display the QualityCoast flag, banner and other material throughout the community, not only on the beach. Some of the existing QualityCoast awards winners are displaying the banners along all roads giving access to the town. The performance in the Blue Flag and Green Key programmes is positively taken into account in the QualityCoast Awards.

Improved awareness of sustainability issues
Participation in the application and filling in the Application Form will already improve the awareness of the community’s performance in important aspects of sustainability and local identity, within the local authority.

Monitoring strengths and weaknesses (SWOT)
The comparison with other QualityCoast communities through the Jury assessment and report provides the community with a good picture of its strengths and weaknesses in an international perspective.

Cooperation opportunities within a coastal region or island
Small adjacent communities can participate together in order to work more cost effectively; they can also apply for the QualityCoast Award together (e.g. islands with more than one municipality or a coherent group of municipalities considering and promoting themselves as a single unit).
Climate, environmental and sustainability issues are increasingly taken into account in the selection of holiday destinations. We believe that this creates opportunities for destinations in attracting visitors who are inclined to cut down on air travel.
However, when competing with the more “exotic” hotspots, destinations must improve and better communicate their attractiveness in terms of their identity, cultural and natural heritage, wildlife and landscape. This requires a regional approach and a regional collaboration in a tourism promotion, based upon the attractiveness of their region and not of one single town.

Learning from similar communities
Upon registration of the community for the QualityCoast programme, the community can participate in the QualityCoast exchange programme with other QualityCoast communities, in workshops and at the annual QualityCoast event.

Guidance for improvement
The international assessment and recommendations by the QualityCoast Jury provide the local authority with a guidance to be considered in an agenda for improvement.

Transparent information to residents and visitors
Award winning communities are assisted in supporting their identity and profile in communication through transparent information on the basis of the three categories (Nature, Environment and Socio-Economics) and the 20 criteria.

The best timing for local publicity
Award winning communities can choose the moment when they would like to launch their own local and national publicity for receiving the Award (including a local Award ceremony) at a date that suits them best, e.g. at a local festivity, opening of the bathing season. This is also facilitated through the possibility to enter the procedure four times a year.

PR opportunity for local Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)
Companies and shops in any QualityCoast Destination can display references to the Award for their community to their clients. Shops in Goedereede and Schouwen-Duiveland (NL) have set the first example of this.

Opportunity for marketing and promotion
The community’s own international tourism marketing can profit from the status of QualityCoast Destination. Experience in several countries learns that this will continue to generate media publicity nationally and internationally. Award winners can widely disseminate the international QualityCoast brochure and refer to the QualityCoast public website.

Inclusion in the joint international marketing campaign
The awards will be announced through an international press release and at the press conference at the annual international QualityCoast Award Ceremony and Workshop, to which all Award winners will be invited.
QualityCoast destinations will also be highlighted through:

• the QualityCoast public website: www.qualitycoast.info
• the annual QualityCoast brochure (circulation 25.000)
• the annual Kust&Zee Gids of the Netherlands (circulation 100.000)

Presence at major tourism events and fairs in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany*

* The QualityCoast secretariat promotes cooperation of Destinations to disseminate their own brochures at these fairs against limited additional cost.

Free services from the EUCC network
QualityCoast also gives benefit of the general services of EUCC:

• Communication opportunities in EUCC’s media, including Coastal & Marine magazine, EUCC Coastal & MarinE-news, EUCC EuroMed News, and specific media for the Netherlands (Kust&Zee Gids, Kust&ZeE mail).
• Free subscription to the e-mail newsletters for staff and board members (five language editions).
• Up to 5 free subscriptions to EUCC’s quarterly Coastal & Marine magazine
• Free online access to the Journal of Coastal Conservation, Planning and Management (published by Springer)
• Free copies of other EUCC publications, e.g. Coastline Reports
• Discounts to EUCC’s Littoral conferences
• Participation in project partner search, joint project preparation and fund raising
• Collaboration in the representation at conferences.
• Access to information from EUCC projects and conferences