In regions of Europe where water is scarce, hotels are looking for ways to rationalise and recycle the water consumed by tourists. Some initiatives have been highlighted by the European project WAT'SAVEREUSE, led by Pyrenees–Mediterranean Euroregion.
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00:00Tourists come here to relax and drink like at home, or even more, but we don't have any water.
00:07How much water do you drink on vacation? And what does it become?
00:10In the regions of Europe where water is rare, hoteliers are looking to save it, or even reuse it.
00:17We start in the south of France, in Occitanie.
00:20It's the end of the season. Tourists have left the campsite, the mimosas and its large water park.
00:32You have the wave pool, the jacuzzi, the looping.
00:35The director is now tracking every liter of water drawn in the water taps in real time.
00:40Each pool has its own counter to check exactly what it consumes,
00:45and know where we can save water and where we lose water.
00:49Pascal Magnin says he saved 15% of water this summer.
00:53He tested synthetic filters for his pools.
00:57He changed the shower systems and recycled the water from the individual jacuzzis.
01:02His next target, the gray waters of the bungalows, a pilot project.
01:06So there you have the shower system, the water from the sink which is there.
01:10These two waters are recovered and treated and sent back to the sanitary level, which is right behind you.
01:19A step supported by the Occitanie region, where tourism represents 10% of the wealth.
01:25We carry out strong operations which then have the capacity to be developed in other sites.
01:30We are planning the anticipated future and making sure that the water policies
01:34allow us to adapt to climate change, which impacts people's lives, which impacts economic life.
01:40The campsite has taken part in a European project,
01:42bringing together partners from Occitanie, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.
01:46We have a lot to learn about energy techniques in Northern Europe
01:49and Northern Europe has to learn from us on the water issue.
01:52Europe cannot do without the Mediterranean. Solutions come through cooperation.
01:56Heading now to Catalonia, another partner establishment of the project on the heights of Girona.
02:07The eco-hotel Canbook consumes about 2.5 million liters of water per year.
02:12More than half comes from the rain caught on the roofs.
02:16The water is purified by these machines,
02:18then it flows into the rooms, the kitchen or this natural pool.
02:23The used water is treated in this phyto-purification station.
02:27They irrigate the vegetable garden.
02:29We can say that the hotel is viable right now,
02:32both economically and energetically and in terms of permaculture,
02:37because when we came here, we looked at the analysis we had of biodiversity,
02:41the amount of organic matter in the earth, the amount of water,
02:45and now we have double the value than when we arrived.
02:49The farm products are served at the restaurant,
02:51the leftovers are returned to the land and the animals,
02:54an inspiration for the circular economy of tomorrow's hotels.