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Recently, Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront in Cape Town, Western Cape has closed its swimming pool effective June 1, due to the water restrictions in Cape Town.
The drought in the Western Cape has recently intensified. The City of Cape Town revealed this week that “dam storage levels are at 19.7%, which is 0.8% down from a week ago. “With the last 10% of a dam’s water mostly not being useable, dam levels are effectively at 9.7%. Disappointingly, consumption remains at 666 million litres, which is above the consumption target of 600 million litres,” the City said in a statement.
Tourism Update asked hotels in the Cape Town area what the hotels are doing to help alleviate the effects of the water restrictions.
“At this stage, everybody is trying to do their little bit to conserve as much as possible,” said General Manager of 12 Apostles Hotel & Spa, Michael Nel. The hotel has implemented a number of projects, these include, “reducing water pressure and switching off fountains”.
Other upcoming projects from the hotel include harvesting grey water and a borehole at the hotel.
One and Only Resort Manager, Nick Solomon, says the hotel is manually recycling as much grey water as it can, which is used to water gardens. “This includes ice buckets, grey water from our dishwashers and unfinished bottles of mineral water”.
“We are educating our guests as part of the check in process so that they limit their water consumption whilst in Cape Town,” says Solomon. “We have fitted water saving devices on all of our employee showers and taps to restrict water flow. We are in the process of procuring aerating devices to fit to our guest showers and basins.” He adds that vehicles are not being washed with water but through the use of chemicals.
Darron Moore, aha Hotels & Lodges Operations Director-Western Cape says aha Harbour Bridge Hotel & Suites’ swimming pool will not be topped up and the pump has been switched off. “We have also placed stickers on the bathroom mirrors as advisory for our guests to remember to use water sparingly”.
Enver Duminy, CEO, Cape Town Tourism has asked tourism operators and other businesses to provide information about the water restrictions to visitors and that everyone work together to preserve water supplies.
“Responsible tourism is always of utmost importance; many tourism businesses have taken great lengths to become compliant with responsible tourism practices. It’s essential that this become a long-term strategy to preserve what we have in the city for future generations of visitors,” says Duminy.
The effects of this drought according to Duminy have not dropped visitor numbers. “There has been no drop in visitor numbers; while there may be a moderate short-term impact on visitor experience should facilities such as swimming pools be closed, for example, we ask for our visitors’ understanding and reiterate that we will consistently do all we can to offer excellent experiences as a world-class destination”.
Sоurсе: tourismupdate.co.za