Tourists in Spain are encouraged to refuse to change towels and bed linen

Tourists in Spain enjoy refusing to change towels and bed sheets

Туристов в Испании поощряют отказываться от смены полотенец и постельного белья

Spain’s resorts – Catalonia, the Balearic and Canary Islands – are severely affected by drought this year. Due to water shortages, local authorities are forced to impose various restrictions.

In particular, until recently, there was a ban on the use of swimming pools in some areas of Catalonia. For example, in the hotels of the popular Lloret de Mar resort on the Costa Brava, the pools were not filled.

The restriction was later lifted. And tourism experts criticized the decision of the authorities. In their opinion, the lack of swimming pools is a disaster for the tourism business. “Vacationers want to relax lying on sun loungers by the water,” said Enric Dotras, president of the Association of Hoteliers.

But the hotel owners themselves are experimenting in order to save money. In particular, many clean the baths and replace them with showers. A water circulation system is introduced to reuse it for flushing in toilets. They encourage guests to refrain from changing towels and bed linen frequently in order to wash less often.

Some experts blame tourists for the increased water consumption. The thing is that many vacationers statistically consume 10 times more water than locals. And on weekends and holidays, the consumption increases even more.

Dotras recalled the exceptional importance of the tourism industry for the Spanish economy: due to this sector, the country receives about 12% of national income. Last year, more than 85 million tourists visited the resorts of Spain.

According to Professor Celsa Garcia of the Balearic University, the root of the water problem lies in the inefficient use of resources. Recently, there have been no serious investments in infrastructure in Catalonia, the sewerage system is not being repaired. As a result, 1 liter out of every 4 is lost due to pipe failures. The same thing happens in Andalusia and the Balearic Islands.

It is expected that the problem of water scarcity will be partially solved by the planned construction of desalination plants in the port of Barcelona by the authorities.

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