“Many of the world’s resorts are struggling to cope with relentless waves of tourists, whose demands for ever more swimming pools and golf courses are sucking them dry,” reports The Guardian of London. “The issue is massive and global,” says Tricia Barnett of Tourism Concern. “Sometimes you’ll see a village [in Africa] with a single tap, when each hotel has taps and showers in every room.” A global conservation organization calculates that a tourist in Spain uses 230 gallons [880 l] of water a day, while a local resident uses only 70 gallons [250 l]. An 18-hole golf course in a dry country can take as much water as a town of 10,000 people. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the water that 100 tourists use in 55 days would grow enough rice to feed 100 villagers for 15 years.
MrBoardman Jun 22, 2010