Tourism boosts water consumption in the Balearic Islands: a visitor spends up to six times more than a resident

PalmaThe per capita water consumption of a tourist can be three to six times that of a resident in the Balearic Islands, according to a study by the Renovables Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry for Ecological Transition.

According to this foundation, the data comes from a diagnosis of tourist water consumption in the Balearic Islands due to their vulnerability to the effects of climate change and the growing pressure on marine and coastal ecosystems. The report highlights that tourism is one of the main factors of water stress in both the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, in a context characterized by structural resource scarcity, high climate vulnerability, and limited natural regeneration capacity.

While a resident uses 127 and 140 liters of water per day, a tourist can consume between 300 and 1,000 liters daily, depending on the season, area, and type of activity, the study indicates. In this regard, it points out that areas with the highest tourist influx, such as the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands, are territories that already present water vulnerability.

Likewise, approximately 80% of the total water consumption associated with tourism is indirect and occurs within the value chain. The percentage of direct water consumption has remained constant over recent years, around 18% and 19% of the total. The report states that tourist activity contributes to the pollution of existing water resources, through wastewater, inadequately treated discharges, and the intensive use of chemicals in swimming pools, golf courses, and hotel facilities.

In this context, according to the study, climate change acts as a multiplier of water pressure. The islands, which by themselves already have limited rainfall, are experiencing an increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, as well as an increase in evaporation in reservoirs and swimming pools due to higher temperatures. The combination of tourism growth, natural water scarcity, productive overexploitation, and climate change "configures a scenario of structural water stress that threatens the sustainability of the island tourism model," it summarizes.

However, the Renovables Foundation emphasizes that the main challenge for island water systems "lies not only in guaranteeing supply, but in promoting a paradigm shift in water management." In its opinion, it is necessary to promote a change in focus from policies "centered exclusively on increasing supply to strategies that prioritize water saving, efficiency, and reuse."