Tourism resilience to drought and climate shocks: The role of tourist water literacy in hotel management

Abstract

The large water demands of tourism threaten the sector's economic viability during climate shocks. Cape Town, South Africa provides an example where the threat of a water “Day Zero” in 2018 caused substantial losses in tourist arrivals, revenues, and subsequent job securities. However, Cape Town's tourism industry also contributed to unprecedented water conservation across the city. Through qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with hotel employees in Cape Town (n = 18), this paper reveals how internal conservation campaigns not only reduced water use, but also helped mitigate economic impacts, eased political tensions, and upheld their excellent standing among visitors. Our results suggest that during severe water crises, hotel managers can model and enforce water conservation efforts while maintaining customer satisfaction.