How Spain's tourism industry is dealing with drought

The beach, the sun and even the festive street atmosphere are likely among the first things travelers want to see when they visit Barcelona. However, their reception has been a bit different for the past few weeks. As tourists land in the city, a different kind of message greets them at the airport:

"Drought alert. Save water during your stay."

Catalonia has been in a critical situation for three years and has seen its worst drought in 200 years. Although the rains of the last few weeks have helped ease the situation, the region remains alert to what the future may bring.

In the context of climate change, where rain will become less frequent in the Mediterranean basin, many hotels have already started to think of ways to cope with the situation.

One towel at a time, please

In this respect, the outlook is more positive for those who have already done their homework.

One such place is St. Christopher's Inn, a hostel just a few meters from Plaza Catalunya. Since its construction, this site, which welcomes thousands of travelers from around the world each year, has had a recycling system that reuses water from showers and sinks for cleaning and toilet flushing.

Additionally, to reduce water consumption by guests, the hotel charges €1 ($1.07) for each towel change and have replaced traditional showerheads with timed push buttons. These are effective solutions, although not easy to implement.

"The biggest challenge is the cost. We are a building with 450 beds and 35 showers. Initially, it was a bit complicated to justify the investment and we had to convince the company to approve our budgets," explained Alex de Luca, marketing manager at St. Christopher's Inn.

Beyond this place, other establishments in Barcelona are also taking measures to confront the drought and be more sustainable.

The Hilton Diagonal Mar has opted to use seawater in its pool, which prolongs the water's useful life. Meanwhile, the Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona has revamped its shower systems to reduce water consumption from 40 liters (10.5 gallons) per minute to just nine liters, by mixing more air with the water.

Hotel guests have reduced water use

Sometimes the efforts of these businesses need to be accompanied by a change in attitude among visitors. Many are unaware of what is happening until they encounter the signs and see the various measures.

"We are gradually reeducating them. Although the response has been more positive than we expected, occasionally some customers complain that the shower water doesn't last long," said de Luca. Although these measures are proving effective in saving water, the truth is that it's not known with certainty how much visitors use.

According to a study published in May 2023 by the Barcelona Hotel Guild, hotel guests in the city have reduced their daily water consumption by 40% over the last seven years. The study also revealed that hotels now account for 9% of the total water consumed in the city.

Furthermore, the average water consumption per tourist stands at 163.5 liters per day, only slightly higher than that of a Barcelona resident when considering the water consumed outside the home.

Changing mindsets in Catalonia

The Water Research Institute at the University of Barcelona has no data to support these findings, but estimates that tourists use around twice as much water per day compared with the rest of society. It's a significant number, but one that does not seem likely to have any repercussions.

Jose F. Garcia, director of the university's Chemical Institute, doesn't believe the model will change in the short term. "In Barcelona, the economy has a very important tourist component that also affects the locals," he said.

Indeed, more than 85 million visitors came to Spain in 2023 and contributed 12% of the country's GDP.

Nevertheless, Garcia believes that in the medium term, there could be a change, as the need to do so becomes bigger and bigger. However, this will not happen until the local mindset changes, too.

"The moment we all realize that water is a limited resource and that we can't use as much as we want, we will all use less. This will also lead to a change in the economic model," he said.

In some places like St. Christopher's Inn, this seems to be starting to happen already.

As Alex de Luca put it: "Every action counts when it comes to water conservation. From the management decisions we make to the behaviors we encourage in our guests, we all have a role to play."

Edited by: Tim Rooks