MADRID: In Lloret de Mar, which, like many well-known tourist destinations in drought-stricken Spain, is looking for methods to conserve its decreasing water resources, there are no longer showers on the beach.
With Spain at the vanguard of the European climate crisis, the country’s vital tourism industry is under increasing pressure to have a smaller environmental effect and adopt more sustainable practices.
The popular northeastern resort’s seafront was scorched by the sun when 28-year-old Danish tourist Jonas Johanson observed, “It’s a shame because it was nice to shower off.”
Since there has been little rain in Spain during the past year, Lloret’s reservoirs in Catalonia are only at 29% of their capacity. Large portions of this 7.7 million-person northeastern area, including its capital Barcelona, have restricted water use for agriculture and business since March to keep houses stocked. However, not everyone in a nation where tourism generates 2.5 million jobs and accounts for 12% of its gross domestic product has supported such measures.
“You can reduce water use in many ways and not leave the tourism sector without showers. We all survive on tourism,” complained Sara Loulidi, 55, a receptionist on Lloret’s hotel-lined seafront.
Spain’s tourism sector
As the world’s second-most visited country after France, Spain welcomed 71.6 million international visitors last year, most drawn to its sunny beaches.
David Sauri, a geography expert at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said, “You have to put some limits in place. We cannot afford uncontrolled growth, with more and more people coming and ever fewer resources.”
