Spain is facing a crisis as fears grow that Brits may cancel their holidays due to new swimming pool rules. The country, particularly the region of Catalonia including Barcelona, is experiencing one of its worst droughts in 200 years, leading to severe water shortages and emergency measures such as pool closures.
Locals are worried that these changes could deter British tourists from their summer holidays. A wave of recent cancellations has already hit accommodations in the popular Costa del Sol area, and industry leaders fear more are on the horizon, according to Birmingham Live.
Demonstrations took place in Malaga last week, calling for a relaxation of Junta de Andalucia’s drought rules that limit refills of private pools and garden watering. This followed authorities’ approval for public sports centres, health clubs, hotels and campsites to fill up their swimming pools ahead of the peak summer period.
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However, owners of tourist properties and related businesses are pushing for further easing of this regulation. They’re concerned that if not, holidaymakers might reconsider their Spanish summer plans.
Despite occasional rain, the Andalucia region is still grappling with a prolonged dry spell. Some towns and villages have even implemented nighttime water supply and pressure restrictions, which are significantly impacting visitor accommodations, reports the Mirror.
Samantha Austin, who represents around 50,000 coastal tourist flats in Spain, has voiced her concerns about the impact of water restrictions on tourism. Speaking to Sur in English, she said: “I have many clients waiting to hear from me as they’re deciding whether to come or not. If there is no pool, they are going to change their destination this year. We are having cancellations and we are going to have more.”
Ahead of a crucial meeting this week, business owners and unions are urging for a relaxation of the rules that will determine water usage regulations for the upcoming period.
In areas like Costa del Sol and Malaga city, local councils currently prohibit the use of drinking water to fill pools. This means raw water from wells or groundwater must be used instead, which then requires filtering in the pool, leading to closures ranging from 24 to 72 hours.
The drought is also severely affecting the country’s agricultural industry, with farmers warning that the situation is ‘critical’ as their crops aren’t growing as expected.
“It’s the first time our well has gone dry in over 13 years,” one local from Seville previously warned. “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.”
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