Striking a fairer balance between tourism and the local community for water usage

(Vatican Radio) September 27^th is World Tourism Day and its theme this year is “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future." The chosen theme highlights the responsibility of the tourism sector to safeguard and intelligently manage water. In a message marking this year’s World Tourism Day the Holy See expressed its support for the initiative and noted that “tourism is often in competition with other sectors” for the usage of water. But given, that tourism is a notoriously thirsty industry how can we ensure that often scarce water supplies are shared more equitably between tourist structures and the local community? Susy Hodges spoke to Matthew Butler of Tourism Concern, an NGO that campaigns for more ethical forms of tourism.

Listen to the interview with Butler of Tourism Concern:

Butler says that the tourist sector and the local communities are often competing for scarce water supplies in many countries and it’s the latter who lose out. He says a “stricter code of conduct and regulations” are needed for the tourist industry which often has "unlimited access to water" around the clock in contrast to the local inhabitants who in some places are rationed to only one or two hours of water each day.