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MEDITERRANEAN AREA/WATER CONSUMPTION
source: www.panda.org/downloads/
europe/medpotourismreportfinal_
ofnc.pdf
www.biodiversityhotspots.org
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Tourist areas suffer from significant fluctuations in the number of local dwellers that have to be supplied with freshwater…
Consumption peaks normally occur in the dry season, when tourist demand overlaps with high water demand by agriculture. Let’s make the example of the Mediterranean region:- according to EEA* (2000), a tourist staying in a hotel uses on average 1/3 more water per day than a local inhabitant. On average, tourists consume up to 300 litres (up to 880 litres for luxury tourism) and generate around 180 litres of wasted-water per day;
- in the 1990s, it was estimated that nearly 135 million tourists (international and domestic) visited the Mediterranean coast every year, doubling the local population (EEA, 2000). In certain areas and at certain times of the year the population can increase 2, 3 or even 10 or more fold;
- this increase in population brings about a peak in water demand for domestic use. In some Greek islands (Cyclades), water demand in summer can be from 5 to 10 times higher than in winter (Plan Bleu, 2004);
- in Cyprus, where water resources are very limited, 8 golf courses are under construction. On average, a golf course needs between 10,000 and 15,000 m3 of water per hectare/year (similar to the water requirements of a rice pond!). The surface of a golf course covers between 50 and 150 hectares, which means that the annual consumption of a golf course is around 1 million m3 per year or the equivalent of the water consumption of a city of 12,000 inhabitants (WWF Spain, 2003).
* EEA: European Environment Agency.
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