The beach, the sun and the often festive atmosphere in the streets are some very good reasons to travel to Barcelona. But the reception that awaits tourists in recent weeks is somewhat… different. Because the first thing travelers see at the airport is a warning message: “Drought Alert. Save water during our stay.”

New set of restrictive regulations

Last April, Catalonia’s government approved a new set of restrictive measures on water consumption to tackle the region’s worst drought in 200 years. In contrast to previous measures, these restrictions are the first to have a direct impact on tourism – until now the authorities have been particularly careful not to damage the tourism industry, which makes up 12% of Spain’s GDP, with the country welcoming more than 85 million visitors in 2023.

Although the restrictions will come into force from July and their practical consequences are not yet certain – swimming pools, for example, will be able to be filled as they are considered climate shelters – many hotels are already considering how to manage the whole situation.

Hotels are already taking their measures

Investments in water saving systems will be key, and with climate change looming, hotels that have already taken some preventative measures will clearly be in a better position.

One such hotel is the St. Christopher’s Inn, an inn next to Catalonia Square. Since its construction, the building, which every year welcomes thousands of travelers from all over the world, has had a recycling system, which recycles, for example, water from bathtubs and sinks as water for toilet cisterns. In addition, aiming to reduce water consumption by their customers, they charge 1 euro for each towel change and have replaced the classic bathroom faucets with ones that have a timer.

These are indeed effective solutions, but sometimes difficult to implement. “The biggest challenge is cost. We have 450 beds and 35 showers. Initially it was a bit complicated to justify the investment and we had to get the company to accept our budgets,” explains Alex de Luca, marketing director at St. Christopher’s Inn.

Apart from this building there are others in Barcelona that are also taking measures to deal with the drought. The Hilton Diagonal Mar, for example, has decided to use seawater in its swimming pool, while the Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona has changed the systems in its showers by mixing more air with the water – thereby reducing water consumption from 40 liters per minute to only 9.

Visitors’ cooperation is essential

Nevertheless, the efforts of tourism businesses are not enough – visitors must also change their attitude. Many vacationers don’t know what’s going on until they see a warning sign in front of them or become aware of drought measures. “We are in a retraining process. Although the reaction of most has been more positive than we expected, sometimes there are also some customers who complain about the fact that the water in the shower does not last long,” says de Luca. At the same time, of course, there are many people who are concerned that measures to reduce water consumption could significantly harm tourism.

According to research published in May 2023 by the Barcelona Hotel Guild, hotel customers in Barcelona have reduced their daily water consumption by 40% over the past seven years. Thus, the average water consumption per tourist reaches 163.5 liters per day, a quantity slightly greater than that consumed by a resident of Barcelona.

However, José F. García, a researcher at the Water Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​estimates that it is difficult to accurately calculate the amount of water consumed by tourists in these areas. “It depends a lot on where they’re staying, whether they’re staying in a big resort or a simple apartment, for example.”

In any case, however, as Alex de Luca points out, “every action counts when it comes to water conservation. From the management decisions we make to the attitude of our customers, we all play a role.”

Edited by: Giorgos Passas