Implementation of Water-Saving Measures in Hotels in Mallorca

Abstract

The efficient management of water resources by the tourism sector is essential to be able to achieve sustainability in the future. Hotels, together with other tour operators, have a responsibility not to use more water than is absolutely necessary. Through a survey carried out in hotels on the island of Mallorca, we asked hotel managers about their water consumption and what types of water-saving measures they had introduced. We identified eleven water-saving measures, which were classified into “advanced” and “simple” according to the technical complications and the level of economic investment required. The numbers of measures of each kind that had been implemented were used as the dependent variables in two different Ordered Probit models. This method allowed us to identify the main variables that explain the introduction of water-saving measures. The significant main variables leading hotel managers to adopt simple water-saving initiatives are the existence of laundry facilities, the age of the hotel, and the number of stars. The same variables were found to be important for the introduction of advanced measures. The main drivers for introducing water-saving measures were the reduction in costs, followed by environmental concerns, while legal requirements and customer loyalty were found to be the least important drivers.

A Description of Green Hotel Practices and Their Role in Achieving Sustainable Development

“…In line with previous research [16,55,79], using low-flow toilets and showerheads, installing water-efficient devices and appliances and implementing linen and towel reuse programs are the most popular means by which hotels have attempted to reduce water consumption. Tirado, Nilsson, Deyà-Tortella & García [80], addressing the water saving measures implemented in Mallorca hotels, found that the most extended simple innovations to reduce water were the introduction of low-flow fittings in water devices, followed by low-flush toilets. Alexander [81] concluded that installing low-flow showerheads and aerating faucets save the room USD 1.50 per month and save the hotel 180,000 gallons of water per year.…”

“…Regarding the motivation to adopt the Green Star criteria, the findings of the study reveal that hotels' commitment to the environmental sustainability was the main driver of adopting the Green Star criteria, which reflects the increased awareness of hotel operators towards sustaining the environment and its natural resources. Concerning SDG 6, "Clean Water and Sanitation", the findings generally reveal that the least adopted green practices were collecting rainwater and using it for garden irrigation or flushing toilets and recycling the grey water for grass irrigation, although previous studies indicated their importance in reducing water consumption in the hospitality industry [61,80]. Atanasova, Dalmau, Comas, Poch, Rodriguez-Roda and Buttiglieri [93] concluded that the recycling and reuse of grey water as well as the collection and use of rainwater are advanced measures that could achieve more sustainable use of water resources and provide cost savings for hotels.…”

Los procesos de planificación hidrológica en la Península Ibérica e islas en un contexto de cambio climático

“…Hemos realizado nuestros propios cálculos para el año 2018 separando a los residentes de las pernoctaciones según la tipología del establecimiento (Tabla 14.3). Para ello, en el caso de los hoteles, las pernoctaciones se separaron en función de la categoría del hotel y se utilizó para cada categoría el valor de consumo por pernoctación que dan Tirado et al (2019).…”

Measuring the Economic Impact of a Voluntary Sustainable Tourism Certification

“…Over the last decades, sustainability has become one of the major issues facing the tourism sector. Climate change, degradation of biodiversity habitat, coastal urbanization, increased demand for water [1], fossil fuel consumption and cultural commodification, are, among others, undesirable environmental and social impacts related to tourist activity. As exposed by Paunović et al [2], sustainability is one of the most important concepts for the future of tourism governance.…”