MA.

ACEL DELA CRUZ|MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ|PRINCESS AIRA VILLARICO|CHRISTIAN JARANILLA

BSTM-

MARCH 9, 2020

“Tourism, Water Scarcity and the Impact on Midscale Accommodations that is located within Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City,
Palawan”

Introduction

Water is a vital necessity for everyday needs such as drinking, washing and cooking and is also, most importantly, required for
growing the food that we depend on for survival and for economic development (Chenoweth 2008). At present, there is enough
water on a global scale to satisfy human needs, as withdrawals only currently account for less than 10% of the available renewable
freshwater resources (Oki and Kanae 2006). Nevertheless, global water resources are very unequally distributed in space and time
(Postel et al. 1996). Some parts of the globe are naturally blessed with abundant water whereas others are located in arid or semi-
arid zones of the world. Moreover, the precipitation regime in many places is characterized by a short rainy season followed by a
long dry season.

Water scarcity is, however, not only the result of water shortage in the physical sense. In many developing countries, lack of access
to water is compounded by insufficient funds, inadequate infrastructure, poor governance, corruption and inability to provide water
of decent quality. In most cases, water scarcity is a combination of first order (physical) scarcity and second order scarcity (implying
poor water management) (Ohlsson and Turton 1999). Furthermore, it is often extremely difficult to assess whether water scarcity is
caused by insufficient supply or excess demand (Rijsberman 2006). Similarly, to the supply of water which varies in space and time
around the globe, human demand for water also varies in different places, as it is a factor of societal values and human behaviour
(Molle and Mollinga 2003). Although scarcity often arises due to a combination of different causes, most societies facing water
scarcity have options available to them in order to address their problems (UN-Water 2006). What is often lacking, however, are the
resources and the appropriate incentives to implement these options.

The tourism sector is a major consumer of water in certain popular tourist destinations, putting further stress on water resources in
regions already suffering from some form of water scarcity. However, this is not always evident from official water use statistics. The
water footprint concept offers a very useful way to consider both the quantity and nature of water use in the tourism sector. The
annual water footprint of a consumer or industry is defined as the sum of the virtual water content of all the products consumed
(supply-chain footprint) and the additional water directly consumed for drinking, washing, cooking (operational footprint) (Hoekstra
et al. 2009). Similarly, to any business or economic sector, tourism consumes significant volumes of water and has both a supply-
chain and an operational footprint, drawing water directly from the domestic water (used in hotels and other accommodation
facilities) and, indirectly from the agricultural sector (through food and beverage consumption). The indirect component of water
use in the tourism sector has yet to be considered in any detail in either policy or academic research.

Statement of the problem:

Water Scarcity in Puerto Princesa City has dramatically impacted (affected) the whole community earlier than usually expected. El
Nino or dry season in the Philippines usually occurs during March, the start of the summer season. However, during the year 2018
scarcity has increased, as many places have been impacted badly. From a usual 1-2hour water interruption it went up to a day or
worst few days of not having a supply of water. Over the past 2 years the community is facing a dilemma that has not been resolved
until now.

Significance or importance of the study.

This study shows about the impacts of water scarcity within the boundaries of Rizal Avenue, which could affect the operation of
business accommodations and tourism industry in Puerto Princesa.

Definitions of terms:

“Water Scarcity”

Water scarcity can mean scarcity in availability due to physical shortage, or scarcity in access due to the failure of institutions to
ensure a regular supply or due to a lack of adequate infrastructure.

Water scarcity already affects every continent. Water use has been growing globally at more than twice the rate of population
increase in the last century, and an increasing number of regions are reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably
delivered, especially in arid regions.

Scope and delimitation of the study

This research only focuses on midscale accommodations within Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City. Only water scarcity in the
midscale accommodations is taken into account and does not include domestic water consumption. Rizal Avenue is not an isolated
case but represents a broader problem of water scarcity in Puerto Princesa City.
Conceptual framework
Chapter 2

Related Literature and Studies

Water demand from tourism – impacts on local water resources. According to (Gössling 2002), the lack of research on the topic may
be due to a lack of available data which does not allow academics and policymakers to make reliable calculations of water
consumption from tourism. Another reason why this may be the case is that the overall impact of tourism on a global scale appears
to be negligible as water use by tourism only amounts to 0.04% of the total water withdrawals (Gössling 2005). Compared to the
aforementioned figures for agriculture, industry and domestic water use these figures can would appear to be negligible.
Nevertheless, these figures do not capture differences between tourist destinations. Tourism can be responsible for up to 16.9% of
domestic water use in island states like Cyprus (Gössling 2006), which corresponds to 5% of the total mean annual water use
(Savvides et al. 2001). Furthermore, even in places where tourism uses a significant percentage of the water, the use of water by the
tourist sector may be very seasonal in nature, meaning that the annual figures mask the actual stress exerted from the tourist sector
on local water resources. Conflict over water resources during the peak tourism period is not uncommon, especially in drought years
when local residents and farmers have restricted access to water while the supply to tourist establishments remains unaffected
(Holden 2000). As a high value user of water where a single day of insufficient water supply could severely affect the public image
and reputation of any tourist destination, tourism almost always takes priority over other uses. (Book chapter on "Water and
Tourism")

Part of the reason why tourist use of water resources can create stress and conflict is proven by studies which have calculated
average daily per capita consumption in tourist accommodation, which have shown tourists tend to use considerably more water on
average compared to the domestic population (Essex et al 2004; Gössling 2005; Emmanuel and Spence 2009). Estimates of tourist
water use in the Mediterranean range from 300 to 850 l/capita/day (De Stefano 2004). As a means of comparison, the global
average in domestic water consumption is around 161 l/capita/day but this varies widely between countries and also tends to vary
seasonally (FAO, 2009). Especially in developing countries where the national per capita use is low, the difference between local and
tourist consumption tends to be huge. A study by Gössling (2001) showed that average per capita daily water use in hotels in
Zanzibar corresponds to around 15 times the daily per capita demand from the local population. This understandably raises issues of
inequity since tourism, being a higher value user than the local population, is given priority over water resources. Added to this is the
fact that most of the tourists come from developed temperate countries where water is abundant. They, therefore, often have no
idea of how their water use compares to that of the local population. When in ‘holiday mode’ and in the absence of financial
incentives to promote prudent use, pro-environmental behavior tends to be very unlikely (Miller et al. 2010). However, these
averaged figures detract from the fact that water used by tourism also varies enormously depending on the accommodation and the
recreation facilities pursued. Despite the general consensus that tourists use more water compared to local residents, it is also
apparent that the tourism sector is extremely diverse in terms of both the amounts and the specific uses of water demand (Kotios et
al. 2009, Rico-Amoros et al. 2009). The general pattern would appear to be that increased luxury leads to increased water
consumption in hotels and other types of accommodation, both as a result of the facilities offered but also the density of the
accommodation.
Reference: January 2013

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2356.5286

In book: The Routledge Handbook of Tourism and the Environment (pp.435-446) Edition: 1 st Chapter: Chapter 41: Water and Tourism
Publisher: Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) Editors: A. Holden and D. Fennell

The tourism water problem

International tourism arrivals have been growing almost consistently for the last half century and recently reached over one billion
international arrivals [53]. A concerning trend is that almost all (46 out of 50) of the Least Developed Countries now rely on tourism
as their primary source of foreign exchange earnings, and they are also the countries where tourism is growing the fastest  [30].
Arguably, tourism development brings a wide range of benefits, but “Overall, there has been greater tendency by international
development agencies to advocate tourism projects than to holistically and critically assess the consequences of tourism-related
development strategies” [30, p. 103].
Water scarcity clearly poses existential challenges for local communities [44], but it has also become an increasingly important
strategic consideration in corporate planning, including by tourism companies [5]. Strategic questions include, for example, how
tourism operators can contribute to responsible water management at the site level, who is responsible for water stewardship at the
tourist destination, and whether the tourism industry should be actually engaged in water management planning. Such broader
considerations of tourism’s resource use for local communities, however, are largely absent from the academic literature and are
mostly found in industry-relevant publications and reports [6].
Water scarcity clearly poses existential challenges for local communities [44], but it has also become an increasingly important
strategic consideration in corporate planning, including by tourism companies [5]. Strategic questions include, for example, how
tourism operators can contribute to responsible water management at the site level, who is responsible for water stewardship at the
tourist destination, and whether the tourism industry should be actually engaged in water management planning. Such broader
considerations of tourism’s resource use for local communities, however, are largely absent from the academic literature and are
mostly found in industry-relevant publications and reports [6]. Questions of more specific resource efficiency at the company level
have been explored, however, for example in relation to incentives to engage in environmental management [7], personal and
organizational values [21], barriers to corporate social responsibility [13], and integrated approaches of endogenous motivators and
external drivers for eco-certification. Key drivers of water use have also been identified in other studies, including the size of the
property, occupancy rate, swimming pools, number of employees [15], the climate and other visitor services within the hotel [3].
Research on how to achieve water saving methods in tourist accommodation is limited (e.g. [20])
Reference:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212371714000341