Aimed at alerting tourists to the importance of saving water during their stay, 6 transparent suitcases, each containing 40 litres of seawater, rolled around the baggage claim belts at Faro airport yesterday.
“You can save up to 235 litres of water during your stay”, reads a huge poster in the arrivals area at Faro, and also on the pieces of luggage that circulated on one of the airport’s luggage belts during yesterday afternoon.
The transparent wheelie suitcasecase symbolises the amount of water (40 litres) that each tourist can save daily, through more conscious use.
The eye catching campaign took passengers arriving on a flight from Dublin by surprise, with one of them admitting that he had not understood the message. Faced with suitcases full of water, he took the opportunity to joke, saying that he thought the liquid was vodka, but after receiving an explanation, he praised the initiative.
“We were here in May and at the time I didn’t know there was a drought in the Algarve,” he said, despite this being his ninth trip to Portugal, when asked by journalists if he was aware of the problem of the lack of water resources that plagues the region.
Amazed by the fact that he could save up to 235 litres of water, on average, during his stay in the Algarve, by adopting good consumption practices, Damien assured that now that he was aware of the situation he would “definitely be more careful” with water use.
While waiting for their luggage to arrive, another couple travelling on the same flight told reporters that they understood the message, but admitted that they had never heard of the drought situation that is affecting the country, with a particular incidence in the South. Visiting Portugal for the first time, and after having learned of the water shortage situation, the young couple, with a 10-night stay ahead of them, assured that they would be more careful with the management of water resources.
The symbolic action, organised by Turismo de Portugal and Turismo do Algarve, is part of the 'Save Water' campaign (in Portuguese, Poupe Água), which will be on billboards in the Algarve region and in national digital media and in the main tourist-sending markets until the end of the year.
According to André Gomes, adherence to the 'Save Water' water efficiency campaign, aimed at tourist developments, has already enabled water savings of 12% compared to last year, according to data from ADENE – Energy Agency.
However, to date, only 110 of the 600 classified tourist developments in the region have adhered to the 'Save Water' seal, through registration on the Commitment to Water Efficiency platform in the Algarve, which represents 16% of all developments.
Faro airport is also making an effort to reduce water consumption, with an irrigation project underway using treated water from the Faro Wastewater Treatment Plant (ETAR), which will save 30% of water consumption from the supply network.
Although the Algarve remains in a drought situation, the new Government (PSD/CDS-PP) has eased the restrictions that the previous executive (PS) had imposed in February to deal with water shortages, after the autumn and winter rains increased water reserves in the region.
