Visitors disembarking at Barcelona airport or admiring the iconic Sagrada Familia basilica during the Easter holidays will be greeted by imposing signs in English, proclaiming: “
Drought Alert.
Save water during your stay
.”
Because, while the imprint of climate change strengthens across southern Europe, the region of Catalonia, washed by the Mediterranean and including Barcelona, is experiencing its most severe drought on record.
An unprecedented drought
Reservoir levels are at only about 15% of their full capacity, forcing restrictions on water consumption for residents, tourists, agriculture and industry.
Showers on beaches are disabled and it is forbidden to fill swimming pools with tap water, among other restrictive measures.
Catalan officials have appealed for responsibility among tourists, while insisting that the drought should not deter them from visiting Spain's city and region busiest for international visitors, where tourism accounts for 14 .5% of the local economy.
“
The message from the Catalonia tourism agency and the commercial department to campsites and hotels is to stay calm: people can enjoy their holidays here as usual
,” said David Mascort, environmental manager of the regional government.
Not that easy.
Barcelona's hotel association warned in February that the city could not afford to convey internationally the image of hotels with empty swimming pools.
Pressure from hotels led authorities to relax a total ban on filling swimming pools, allowing the use of desalinated water instead.
“
Tourists are not frightened by the drought and are not aware of it before arriving
,” said Manel Casals, director of the hotel association.
If we are not careful, Barcelona's image could suffer from drought restrictions, but we have not seen any negative impact so far.
The tourists continue to flock
.”
Water-intensive hotels
Since 2016, Barcelona hotels have halved their water consumption, according to a recent study by the hotel association, although five-star hotels remain the biggest consumers, with an average of 242 liters of water per day in 2022, and all hotels representing 9% of the city's water consumption.
Current restrictions force residents to limit themselves to 200 liters per day.
Overcrowded tourists are already causing protests by some Barcelona residents, and the drought could make the problem worse.
Holding signs reading "Turn off the tap on tourism" and "Rivers and aquifers without water, hotel swimming pools full", environmental activists staged a demonstration on Wednesday in front of the Barcelona tourism agency, requiring restrictions for the sector.