¿Es la eficiencia en la gestión del agua una coartada para el crecimiento del turismo?

Resum

The need for water availability to enable tourism development has led in recent decades to the implementation of policies aimed both at increasing the supply of water resources and improving its efficiency. However, advances in efficiency have not always meant a decrease in water consumption in absolute terms in tourist destinations. After overcoming the worst stage of the economic crisis and opening a new cycle of economic growth, there was an expansionary process for tourism until the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, water savings generated by the water efficiency policies has enabled the growth of tourist activity. This work analyzes the relationship between the evolution of hydraulic performance and water consumption in the coastal municipalities of the province of Alicante. Likewise, the urban-tourist dynamics and factors that explain the different trends observed in these sun and beach mature tourist destinations are identified. The results show the influence that the population size, the urban and the tourist model have had on the increase in efficiency and water consumption.