Published
Tue, Jul 19, 2016, 11:15
- The White Isle is taking steps to deal with the environment impact, which includes a clean water crisis.
The head of Ibiza's Department Of Tourism, Vicente Torres, told Pulse Radio this week that the island "cannot support much more increase in tourism."
According to Torres, visitors to the region are consuming resources—specifically clean water—at an unsustainable rate. "We have a limited capacity being an island," he says. "Not only regarding the capacity of people but also regarding capacity of potable water and other important infrastructures such as roads, water treatment and desalination plans, etc." Officials and ecologists fear that the situation may reach a breaking point if the rise in tourism continues.
As of July 1st, the government instated a Sustainable Tourism Tax to create funds for addressing these issues. It levies 50 cents per person per night for hostels and camping, and €2 for luxury hotels and apartments—less after the first eight nights of stay. "In some areas we have already started renewing water pipes, since we know that 40 percent (approximately) of water is wasted due to the bad conditions of the pipes," Torres explains. "There is also a prohibition of getting water out of wells during specific periods during the year." In addition, they've approved a moratorium on building properties in certain areas of the island.
THUMP editor Michelle Lhooq went deep on Ibiza's water crisis when she visited last fall. Read more on that here.