Water is the New Gold: 5 Brilliant Water Conservation and Retention Solutions from the World of Tourism

On atolls struggling with limited freshwater resources, luxury tourism has traditionally placed immense pressure on the local environment due to the high energy demands of seawater desalination plants. In the Maldives, the Soneva Fushi eco-resort has introduced a pioneering model: the hotel produces its own sparkling and still drinking water in a closed-loop purification and bottling facility, serving it exclusively in reusable glass bottles to guests. Greywater generated is filtered through biological fields and coconut fibre beds, then used for irrigating the island’s central organic garden and palm groves. A significant portion of the revenue from water sales is reinvested into the Soneva Foundation, which funds the construction of clean drinking water wells and local water purification systems on neighbouring inhabited islands. Thanks to this integrated water management model, hundreds of thousands of disposable plastic bottles are replaced annually, and untreated wastewater is prevented from entering the sea, protecting the fragile marine life of coral reefs. You can learn more about the initiative and local projects on the official Soneva Foundation website.

In the realm of awareness-raising and eliminating plastic waste, Iceland has shown the world how a country’s natural freshwater resources can become its strongest tourism marketing tool. The Kranavatn initiative (meaning tap water in Icelandic), launched by Iceland’s tourism board, aimed to completely eliminate the purchase of disposable PET bottled water among the millions of tourists visiting the island. Ninety-five percent of Iceland’s drinking water comes from crystal-clear mountain springs and glaciers, naturally filtered for decades through basalt and lava rocks, requiring no chemical treatment or chlorination. As part of the programme, hotels and restaurants serve chilled tap water in stylish glass carafes, while visitors are encouraged to refill their own bottles at every opportunity, as the quality of local tap water rivals the world’s most expensive bottled luxury waters. Details and background materials about the campaign can be found on the official Visit Iceland - Kranavatn website.

In southern Portugal’s popular coastal region, the Algarve, rainfall distribution is extremely uneven, with short, intense winter rains followed by long, dry summer months. Through the regional Save Water Algarve programme, hotels, golf resorts, and eco-resorts have turned to modernised versions of traditional, historic rainwater harvesting cisterns to retain rainwater. Rainwater from large building rooftops and paved areas is prevented from flowing into the sewage system or the sea and is instead collected in massive underground insulated reservoirs during winter storms. By storing clean rainwater, these facilities can maintain the irrigation of parks and green spaces even during the hottest summer heatwaves without using a single litre of residential drinking water, significantly easing the strain on the region’s water resources. More information about the initiative can be found HERE.

On the edge of the desert, in Morocco’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed clay villages and oases, sustainable tourism is combating water scarcity by reviving centuries-old traditional engineering knowledge. Responsible eco-hotels and guesthouses in the area have rejected the drilling of deep wells powered by electric pumps – which would quickly deplete groundwater – and instead support the restoration of historic Khettara systems. The Khettara is an underground, hand-dug channel network that transports meltwater from distant mountains to oases, avoiding evaporation losses entirely and relying solely on gravity. This electricity-free, zero-carbon water retention technology allows desert accommodations to continuously grow fresh local organic vegetables and maintain cooling oasis gardens, all while leaving the fragile groundwater reserves completely untouched. You can read more about the protection of Moroccan oases and traditional water management HERE.

Austria is pioneering solutions on two different levels of tourism to protect its clean freshwater resources and reduce waste. As part of its climate protection strategy, the city of Vienna has installed more than 1,800 public, artistically designed, and free-to-use drinking fountains at the most visited tourist hotspots, all supplied with pure alpine spring water. The city provides tourists with a digital map showing the nearest refill point, completely replacing the need to purchase disposable PET bottles. Simultaneously, eco-hotels in the Tyrolean Alps – such as the Biohotel Stanglwirt – operate closed-loop water management systems: water from their own alpine springs is channelled through heat exchange systems, using the thermal energy of wastewater to heat the hotel’s wellness facilities and pools before the filtered water is returned to the natural cycle. You can find more information about Vienna’s drinking water network and sustainable tourism opportunities on the official Wien.info - Sustainable Stay in Vienna tourism website, and about Austria’s green hotel criteria on the Österreich Werbung - Sustainable Travel platform.