Tourism eating up water resources in Morocco

No water, no tourism. The correlation between these two factors is, indeed, as clear as water. However, this vital interdependence is hardly discernible in some countries of the south Mediterranean, even if the question of water provision comes on top of their national agenda.

Nadia Ben Sellam - Morocco, Eurojar

Aiming at reducing the ambiguity in the correlation between “water and tourism” in the Mediterranean, a study has been launched this year to evaluate the channels of water consumption in the touristic field in this region. Carried out in several countries (including Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan), the results of this study were recently published. This survey was conducted in the context of the drying up of water resources in the Mediterranean, the world’s best tourist attracting area, and of a dramatic increase of touristic activity.

The Directorate-General for Environment at the European Commission was behind the initiative. In fact, the study was carried out in the framework of Medstat II programme, launched in the year 2006 over a period of three years, and funded by 30 million Euros. As a follow-up to Medstat I, the second phase of the programme focused on nine objectives, most of them defined in the Medstat I. Three new goals emerge in the second phase: social statistics, agriculture and energy.

A good source of income, but…
Tourism in Morocco is well developed. It is the second strongest sector in the country, and constitutes an increasingly important source of hard currency. However, the overgrowing consumption of water by touristic activities is becoming a cause of alarm. In fact, mass tourism in coastal and dry regions in the country is exhausting water resources. The peak of tourist traffic during holidays and summer time, accentuates the pressure on water resources, and makes it scantier.

The requirements for comfort and the development of facilities increase the pressure on water resources. Golf courses, swimming pools and aquatic centers are some of the top consumers of water in the country. In fact, Morocco is already considered a poor country in water resources, where annual individual consumption is limited to 1000 m3. According to a report published by the World Bank, Morocco’s water supply is threatened by drought by the year 2050.

A re-evaluation of tourism policy
“Water and Tourism”, the pilot innovative study on water consumption in the tourism sector in Morocco, published in the framework of MEDSTAT II programme, explores the issue of water use by tourism in Morocco and 4 other concerned countries. This study assesses the availability of statistical information in this matter to be able to determine the real impact of tourist activities on water provisions. The objective of this study is to rationalize tourism policy and planning with respect to environmental issues. These are partly the objectives of the regional statistical cooperation programme between the European Union and Mediterranean partner countries, MEDSTAT, which kicked off in the year 1996.

Since then, efforts are being deployed to improve the production, collection, dissemination and use of statistics to encourage exchange in this field between both sides of the Mediterranean, in response to the economic and social requirements defined by the Barcelona accord. The main objective was to facilitate the elaboration of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone, with standardized national and regional statistical data.



This study led to several principal conclusions. First, golf courses seem to be consuming huge amounts of water in Morocco. An 18-hole golf course, for example, consumes alone 3500 m3 of water a day. However, Moroccan authorities do not consider golf courses as touristic facilities and their activities do not figure on the list of touristic activities. It is worth noting that Morocco, compared to the other countries concerned by the study, has the largest number of golf courses (17), compared to 9 in Tunisia and 1 in Jordan. Studies show that golf courses in Morocco, as well as in Tunisia, mainly consume recycled wastewater. Another fact is that water consumption in luxury hotels in Morocco is particularly high, according to international norms. Most of these hotels and resorts consume water from private water wells that are not necessarily subject to tariffs or control.

The study shows also that a part of water consumers in the tourism sector are not listed among legal consumers because they fall in the category of non-classified and non-structured hotels, mainly for internal tourism. Thus, statistics of water consumption in the tourism sector suffer from deficiencies, which lead, most of the time, to erroneous and non-reliable results.

In fact, this lack in statistical data resulted in various obstacles in the processing of the study. Fragmented and distorted data hindered the implementation of a global strategy for water consumption in the country. It seems difficult as well to collect reliable information in this field in a unified and regular manner. This study came thus to classify the different categories of touristic activities, such as golf, hotels, swimming pools, and define the level of water consumption of each one of them. A proper classification of the country’s water resources was made possible thanks to this research work.

Finally, the study came to the conclusion that statistical information that highlight the correlation between water and tourism is mainly inexistent in the concerned countries. Any progress in this field turns out to be hard and costing. Yet, some recommendations were made to enhance statistical data in this field, namely, the modernization of institutional structures and the implementation of adequate information technology to collect and exchange information. A shake up to actors in the water and tourism sectors might be a good catalyst for potential success and cooperation.

You can also see: MEDSTAT Programme