Spain is currently facing a huge drought which is affecting a number of hotspots such as Barcelona with emergency restrictions and rules being in place
Brits heading on Spain holidays are being warned of tough new rules and restrictions in place as the country faces one of its worst droughts in 200 years.
The popular holiday area of Catalonia, including Barcelona, is suffering from severe water shortages, and emergency rules have been put in place, with pools being closed and other measures introduced.
In fact over the Easter holidays there have been of large signs in English warning tourists: “Drought alert. During your stay, save water”, while beach showers have also been switched off in a bid to save water.
The drought is also taking its toll on the country’s agricultural industry, with farmers warning that the situation is ‘critical’ as crops aren’t growing, reports Birmingham Live.
“It’s the first time our well has gone dry in over 13 years,” a local from Seville shared. “We are having to completely redesign our garden to make it more drought resilient. We’ve changed our vegetable garden to a fruit orchard, and we recycle the greywater from the washing machines by filtering it through three ponds.”
While tourism will also be having an impact on water resources during the peak travel season, one hotel manager said that there has been a shift in recent years as people are more aware of their effect on the local resources.
They explained: “Tourists have always done their bit in small ways. They no longer demand their towels are washed or their sheets changed on a daily basis. They use the right buttons when flushing the loo. They take shorter showers. In general, people are happy to be sensible on holiday, and to help their hosts out.”
Meanwhile David Mascort, the regional government’s environmental chief, has urged people not to panic about their holidays. He explained: “The message from Catalonia’s tourism agency and business department to campsites and hotels is one of calm: (People) can enjoy their holidays here as usual.”
However in other Spanish hotspots, there has been a growing tension with locals demanding tougher rules on tourism numbers as their infrastructure struggles to cope.
In the Canary Islands specifically, residents have been demanding a tourism tax and stricter restrictions for visitors after warning that the hotspots could be on the brink of collapse. In Palm-Mar, a small town on the southern side of Tenerife, residents and visitors woke up to messages graffitied on walls including ‘Tourists go home,’ ‘My misery your paradise,’ and ‘Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200’, in a move that The Canarian Weekly dubbed ‘tourismphobia’.
However, that’s not to say that all locals are showing hostility to holidaymakers. Carmelo J. León, a professor of tourism at Las Palmas University, told the Mirror: “Most of the population is very happy with tourists, of all nationalities. The Canary Islands have always been very friendly. The great majority understand it adds value to them, in terms of the flow of culture, the cultural value of tourists from Germany, Sweden, Britain. People are very happy with the British coming to the Canary Islands.”
Check out more of Daily Mirror’s latest travel stories by signing up to our free weekly newsletter.
