An initiative between the Travel Foundation and the Moroccan National Tourist Office in January has helped hotels and guest houses in the country save up to a quarter of their average water consumption.
Businesses involved in the Every Drop Counts project saved every month the same amount of water used by a local family of six over 30 years - enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.
One year’s worth of savings is equivalent to the annual water consumption of a village of 2,000 people.
The project gives hotels and guest houses access to expertise and practical help to reduce water consumption, an issue of particular importance for destinations such as Morocco where water resources are limited.
As a result, businesses have been able to save between five and 25% of their average water consumption, decrease the number of litres used per guest by up to 20%, and reduce water bills.
To date, 46 hotels and 44 guest houses in Marrakesh and Essaouira have been audited, as a first step in the project.
Of these, hotels and guest houses representing 1,284 rooms have implemented measures to reduce water consumption such as installing flow reducers, reducing washing and checking for and fixing leaks regularly, whilst others have committed to make changes in the near future.
Travel Foundation chief executive Sue Hurdle said: “The strong results from this programme show just how much can be achieved by taking simple steps towards sustainability – for the environment, for local people and for the businesses themselves.
“The prominence of climate change in the media has meant that many more customers are aware of the issues and want to see evidence that businesses are trying to make a difference.
“Water and energy saving is a simple, but highly effective way that accommodation providers can get involved and we urge tour operators to work with their suppliers to bring about change in this way.”
MNTO London director Ali EL Kasmi said: “Our partnership with the British Travel Foundation, starting with a pilot project in Marrakech and Essaouira to improve the management of water resources amongst Moroccan hoteliers, has already achieved substantial water savings and these results will be important to guide future projects for this partnership in 2010 and beyond.”
The ‘Every Drop Counts’ initiative is part of a wider Travel Foundation water and energy saving programme, which involves accommodation providers in the Caribbean, Sri Lanka and Cyprus.
by Phil Davies
Sustainable Travel
Delicious
Digg
Reddit 
Facebook 
StumbleUpon 
Technorati 
