Tourism and Water Stress: A Worrying Convergence in Time and Place

Abstract The Spanish tourism sector is a driving force of the Spanish economy. In 2024, it was the country with the second largest number of foreign tourists in the world (93.8 million), surpassed only by France. Tourism in Spain is, therefore, a productive sector that generates employment and accounted for 13.1% of GDP in 2024. Like other productive sectors, tourism consumes water resources. The analysis carried out in this respect shows that water consumption per person in tourist dwellings is similar to residential consumption, while consumption per person in hotel establishments is approximately four times residential consumption. On the other hand, it is clear that the concentrated tourism model, which is the one followed by Benidorm, generates a lower unitary water consumption than the extended model. Another highly relevant issue is that the Spanish tourist destinations that receive the most visitors are located in areas of very high water stress and, moreover, are concentrated in the summer months, which are the months in which this water stress is most acute. This means that water consumption in the tourism sector must be adjusted in situations where consumption restrictions are necessary.