How guest profile and tourist segment explain acceptance of economic-based water-saving measures. A mediterranean destination case study

Abstract

Saving water in tourist destinations is most effective when guests staying in rental accommodation actively participate and collaborate in it, especially in regions where water is scarce, such as the Mediterranean. There are several guest-centred water-saving measures that may be significant and therefore play an important role in saving water, including economic ones. Measures such as taxes and/or economic incentives may be worth considering as a complement to existing water-saving actions. However, little is known about how acceptable they are to guests. To research the acceptance of these measures to guests with different profiles, 493 guests from five hotels, selected by a convenience sampling approach, were surveyed. These hotels - in the Ter River basin, a region with high water stress - stand out for their good water-saving practices. A two-step cluster analysis has been applied to analyse how acceptance of a water tax and a water incentive can be explained by the three resulting clusters. The results demonstrate the water incentive-based measure to be clearly cluster-dependant, a fact that allows to state that the design and application of an economic-based environmental measure need to consider the specific territorial characteristics of the tourist destination. This study explores potential strategies for saving water in a tourist destination facing important challenges regarding climate change and water availability since it allows for the formulation of multiple solutions to reduce water consumption dealing with water scarcity, and sheds new and important light on water resource management in tourist areas. It also highlights the essential role that visitors should adopt in relation to sustainable water consumption during their holiday, making them, together with Destination Management Organizations and the business sector, fundamental stakeholders in the sustainable use of natural resources.