The hidden water consumption of tourists: 55 five-minute showers per day

Palm"If we assume 200 liters of water per day per tourist, a reasonable consumption for a three-star hotel, the water footprint can reach 11,000 liters per day," estimates the president of the executive committee of Act4water—an initiative involving professionals specializing in corporate sustainability and water management—at the Water and Tourism conference held this Thursday. This figure in the Balearic Islands is equivalent to filling a small swimming pool every day. She added that "the figures increase" if the hotel "upgrades in category." She also pointed out that the average water footprint of a Spanish resident is 6,700 liters of water per day. These figures, however, are only fully understood if one has a clear understanding of what a water footprint is: the total amount of water a tourist consumes both directly—through showers, swimming pools, or baths—and indirectly, through the services they use. This is the water needed to wash hotel towels and sheets, cook, clean rooms, maintain gardens, and fill and treat swimming pools. To put it in context: 11,000 liters is roughly equivalent to 55 five-minute showers, or the domestic water use of an entire family for several days, or 150 loads of washing machine in a single day.

Marín referred to a 2020 study by the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) that estimates tourism consumes 25% of the islands' water. Along the same lines, he warned: "The cost of inaction could be up to five times higher than the cost of investing now to adapt to climate change." Thus, he called on the sector to seize "a unique opportunity to integrate sustainable water management."

For his part, the executive director of the Balearic Islands Chemical Industry Cluster (CliQIB), Joan Miquel Matas, referred to surveys conducted among tourists, in which "90% responded that they didn't save water while on vacation because they were on vacation." He also pointed out that "in addition to all this, water in hotels is a service and cannot be eliminated, which makes reducing consumption difficult." Dolores Tirado, a tenured professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of the Balearic Islands, explained that hotel rooms are the area where the most water is consumed. "Existing estimates place the consumption in hotel rooms at between 34% and 37%, and, in general, showering is the third largest water consumer in hotels. This can vary depending on the location and type of hotel." However, he assured that, in recent years, hoteliers have increased their efforts to implement water-saving measures in guest rooms. In this regard, he referred to a study conducted in collaboration with the Majorca Hotel Business Federation (FEHM), which found that measures had been implemented to achieve this goal. "Ninety percent of the hotels studied have dual-flush toilets, 85 percent have aerators on their faucets, and 85 percent have signage in the rooms to promote water conservation," he stated. In contrast, he added that "only 5.6% of hotels have installed pool covers to prevent evaporation, 11% have adopted greywater reuse measures, and 30% have implemented mechanisms to control water leaks."

Tirado explained the main motivations of hoteliers for implementing water-saving measures: cost reduction and environmental awareness. However, he added that the main obstacle to adopting them is "the high initial financial investment" they require.

Tourists seek pleasure, and natural resources pay the price.

All of this, "depends on the behavior of tourists, who often show a discrepancy between their pro-environmental attitude and their actual behavior regarding environmental practices." Along the same lines, he added that visitors "seek pleasure and are less likely to participate in initiatives that require effort." "A tourist might have the idea of saving water at home, but when they're here, water is free and they shouldn't have to pay for it," he lamented. Positive messages about saving water and reusing towels in hotels are two of the practices that hoteliers have adopted to conserve water. Garden Hotels, the UIB (University of the Balearic Islands), and the Gómez Group have conducted four experiments in three hotels in Mallorca that, according to Tirado, have "a strong hedonistic component." More than 70 rooms were monitored with water meters, and showers were also monitored to analyze the impact of the interventions carried out. Only 8% of the hotels achieved water savings, while the first two achieved savings of 30%.