Abstract
The agro-tourism environmental sustainability and its circular economy approaches represent the keys for the future development of the sector and in term of tourist presences, thanks to their growing attractivity. Water is one of the most used inputs in agro-tourism structures for internal (drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc.) and outdoor use (for agriculture and green areas management). In the scientific literature, the outdoor water use was more studied with regard the agro-tourism structures. The aim of the present paper is first to check and understand how the water consumption of an agro-tourism structure is managed and to propose solutions for its reduction, all in agreement with circular economy concepts, considering also the SARS-CoV-2 issue. Also, the role of tourists in helping, respect the rules and complying with the proposed solutions will be considered. The results demonstrate that a proper maintenance can be obtained by simply introducing simplified devices. Moreover, a key factor is the tourist information at agro-tourism structures. With a technological effort, water can be managed to favour reuse (e.g. grey water).
Highlights
In the last decades, the tourism sector has been continuing to grow worldwide, 2019 being the 10th consecutive year of lively growth [1] with a prediction of an increase of up to 1.8 billion tourist presences by 2030 [2]
As a matter of novelty, this paper especially focuses on water, whose use is investigated in detail, and on the changes in water use expected during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Such devices can be classified into three categories: 1) flow reducers, which essentially aim at diminishing the flow rate, 2) mixers, which mix water and air allowing for a quick adjustment of flow and temperature, and 3) friction-jet devices, which magnify the jet by a designed air-water mixing
Summary
The tourism sector has been continuing to grow worldwide, 2019 being the 10th consecutive year of lively growth [1] with a prediction of an increase of up to 1.8 billion tourist presences by 2030 [2]. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic context has left marks in the tourism sector [3]. Following the scenarios depicted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding the development of recovery strategies in the pandemic context, rural destinations are expected to be more attractive to tourists and revival the tourist arrivals due to the possible relative isolation linked with natural areas [5]. A recent study confirms the massive impact of COVID-19 on agro-tourism: during a pandemic, if movement and tourism are allowed, tourists tend to select destinations with lower density of people (e.g., rural areas) [6]. Another research confirms that, according to Polish respondents, holidays in the country, spent on agro-tourist farms, are the preferred choice in the era of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
