For water quality criteria, beaches are required to comply with standards for frequency and the amount of water quality sampling and meet the standards and requirements. Most significantly, no industrial waste or wastewater from sewage treatment plants should affect the beach, and all beaches should be free of harmful bacteria.

The beaches are also required to be kept clean at all times, while algae or natural debris are required to be left intact. Waste disposal bins and containers are required to be provided sufficiently for beachgoers and recyclable waste containers should be readily available. In terms of safety, beaches are required to keep an adequate number of lifeguards and lifesaving equipment, along with emergency plans to cope with pollution risks.

Antalya has the highest number of Blue Flag beaches at 229, while Muğla has 111. Mersin, another Mediterranean province, now has 11 such beaches, while Kırklareli and Sakarya in the northwest added one more to their existing Blue Flag beaches.