A chemical compound.
Editorial Collaboration
(Picture by Adriano Martins)
Editorial Collaboration
Water, the blue gold. A resource for life, a chemical compound. A resource we need to live, to develop and to grow. A resource to care about. Tourism and water are a difficult combination. Because of mass tourism the surrounding areas among the Mediterranean Sea are now experiencing dramatic problematics. Cyprus, Majorca, Mykonos, Sicily, Tunisia, and many other dream vacation localities are today concerning about mass tourism.
In the whole Mediterranean area tourism has drastically increased. Eurostat has estimated that in 2005 the 6% of the world total had visited this region. In addition, the World Trade Organization has counted 270 millions tourists in 2010 and it has predicted an amount of 346 millions tourists in 2020. The rapidly rising of mass tourism has terrible consequences on water consumption and its distribution. In 2010 it was registered a dramatic waste water pollution, around the 7% which is equal to 180 litres per tourist/day. A mass misbehaving, one of those which impacts on local populations, flora and fauna. However, the Mediterranean area is not the only concern.
In the whole Mediterranean area tourism has drastically increased. Eurostat has estimated that in 2005 the 6% of the world total had visited this region. In addition, the World Trade Organization has counted 270 millions tourists in 2010 and it has predicted an amount of 346 millions tourists in 2020. The rapidly rising of mass tourism has terrible consequences on water consumption and its distribution. In 2010 it was registered a dramatic waste water pollution, around the 7% which is equal to 180 litres per tourist/day. A mass misbehaving, one of those which impacts on local populations, flora and fauna. However, the Mediterranean area is not the only concern.
Zanzibar, Africa, a natural paradise. A group of islands in the Ocean, the Indian. A place at only 20-25 kilometers distance from the African coasts. An area in which we have showed the highest side of human stupidity. Luxury hotels, touristic villages, bungalows, and water waste pollution of over 3,000 litres per room and per day. Jamaica, Caribbean. Warm sea, astonishing locations, the land of the Rastafari movement. A land, in which landscapes have been shaped by giant touristic cubes of cement owned by Asian, American and European corporations. Here, waste and pollution have increased almost proportionally to poverty and crime. Goa, India. A mystic place on the ocean. Nature, cultures, stories, people. A place where locals can consume up to 14 litres of water per day and where in a five-star resort a guest can waste up to 1785 litres of water per day.
Tourism is the third world largest industry. This is a basin of money and power. It is a way of traveling. Traveling can be coloured, relaxing, different and it should be a way to gain knowledge rather than waste it.
No comments:
Post a Comment