water tourism meaning

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What Is Water Tourism?

Water tourism involves traveling to locations specifically to take part in water-based activities. Some people who do not wish to partake in water related activities embark on water tourism trips so that they can visit tourist sites that sit close to bodies of water such as lakes or oceans. Water tourists are often independent travelers, although some travel firms do organize group trips.

Ocean conditions in certain parts of the world are ideally suited to surfing and other types of water sports. People from all over the globe go on water tourism trips to Hawaii, California, Australia and other destinations that are synonymous with surfing. Many of these tourists visit these locations in order to participate in surfing while others come to these places in order to watch professional surfers compete in major competitions. Some travel firms offer package deals to surfers that include hotel accommodation and meals. Local vendors rent out surfboards and other equipment that visitors can use if they want to try their hand at wakeboarding, waterskiing or other sports.

While water tourism often involves active pursuits, some water tourists visit islands and coastal regions in order to participate in more leisurely pursuits such as diving or snorkeling. Travel operators organize tours of coral reefs and arrange for local tour guides to preside over expeditions on which travelers can swim with local marine life such as dolphins or even sharks. Some tour operators also cater to families who are primarily focused on swimming and sunbathing rather than interacting with marine life.

Water vacations sometimes involve inland destinations such as lakes and rivers. Tourists can sail or swim on lakes while many rivers are ideally suited to white water rafting . Some nations such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have extensive canals and water tourists can rent out boats and travel the country via the canals. Other tourists prefer to embark on shorter trips involving rented canoes or kayaks. Additionally, some leisure companies operate water parks that contain swimming pools, water slides and areas for canoeing or kayaking .

Tourists often visit well-known destinations such as major water parks, popular lakes or well renowned beach locations but some travel firms market deluxe vacations to remote regions such as islands in the South Pacific. These trips are designed for people who want to avoid major crowds and who have the financial resources to make their way to these remote destinations. In some instances, water tourists stay in traditional beachfront huts that contain luxury upgrades such as satellite television or king size beds. They can participate in a wide range of water based activities, ranging from fishing to deep sea diving.

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• A water tourist.
• By: Richard Carey Tours of coral reefs are popular forms of water tourism.
• By: eothman Scuba diving is a popular water tourism activity.
• By: VILevi Whitewater rafting is a popular tourism activity.
• By: Maridav Sunbathing can be a more leisurely water tourism offering.
• By: soupstock Kayaking is a popular water tourism activity.
• By: NICOLAS LARENTO Snorkeling with marine wildlife is a popular water tourism adventure.

Clean water contributes to the recreation and tourism industry worldwide by accentuating beautiful beaches, white-water rivers, mountain lakes, and aquatic ecosystems such as coral reefs. Water has a powerful attraction for people. When people decide to plan vacations and travel for recreation, instruction, and pleasure, many have a strong tendency to head to the water.

For example, a day at the beach provides recreation, relaxation, and a chance to renew the spirit. A third of all Americans visit coastal areas each year, making a total of 910 million trips while spending about $44 billion. Coastal tourism supports businesses like hotels, resorts, restaurants, outdoor outfitters, chartered fishing services, and travel agencies.

One of the largest service industries in the United States is travel and tourism, two broad categories which involve approximately 17 million jobs. Total travel and tourism expenditures in the United States for the year 2000 reached $582.5 billion, while total revenue was $99.5 billion. In increasing numbers, domestic and foreign travelers are visiting theme parks, natural wonders, and points of interest in major U.S. cities. Worldwide, tourism annually generates over $3.5 trillion dollars, a significant percentage of which involves water-related tourism.

Because of the popularity of tourism worldwide, coastal, lake, and riverfront development has dramatically increased in recent decades. For instance, riverfront developments often include convention centers, hotels, retail and entertainment facilities, housing, and sometimes an aquarium or discovery center. With the emergence of riverfront parks, land near rivers is becoming highly desirable.

Popular Water-Related Activities

Almost all Americans participate in some type of water-based recreation and tourism, and (on average) spend about 10 percent of their disposable income on recreational activities, including water-related tourism. Popular waterrelated vacations may involve cruise ships, ecotourism, sport fishing, underwater diving, and canoeing and kayaking, to name a few.

Cruise Ships.

Cruise ships are elegant vessels featuring swimming pools, theaters, restaurants, and luxurious passenger accommodations. Some vessels built in the 1980s were twice the size of their 1970s predecessors and carried over 1,000 passengers. In the 1990s, these floating entertainment centers became even larger, some carrying nearly 5,000 passengers and crew. One half-billion-dollar ship featured amenities such as a large floating casino, a luxurious 1,350-seat theater, a 9-hole miniature golf course, an ice rink, and a shopping mall.

Some cruise operators also offer small ships for up-close exploration of wilderness waterways. The shallow draft of small vessels can take tourists along shorelines, alongside icebergs and calving glaciers, and through the narrowest navigable channels. * The small vessels offer a more informal and relaxed way to observe difficult-to-reach water passages and landmasses.

Ecotourism.

Sport fishing..

Sport fishing is enjoyed in fresh water or salt water. Freshwater fishing takes place in such places as lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Game fish in these waters include trout, bass, and many other species. They range in size from 0.25 kilograms (0.5 pounds), such as bluegills, to as large as 45 kilograms (100 pounds), such as king salmon.

Salt-water fishing occurs in oceans, estuaries , and tidal rivers. Game fish found in these waters tend to be larger than average fresh-water fish. They include snappers, bonefish, striped bass, and tuna. Fish can be landed as large as 70 kilograms (150 pounds), such as sailfish and tarpon, and even as much as 225 kilograms (500 pounds), such as marlin.

Fishing expenditures are increasing, and in some areas participation rates outpace rates of population growth. A significant portion of recreational spending is tied to fish and wildlife, both of which require high quality water and habitat for survival.

Underwater Diving.

Scuba divers carry a tank of air that allows them to breathe while diving deep underwater. The Professional Association of Dive Instructors estimates that there are now 6 million active scuba divers worldwide. They engage in many different types of diving, of which wreck, cave, commercial, and military diving are just a few. The most common form of scuba diving is sport diving, or recreational diving, which is practiced at depths of less than 39 meters (130 feet). From these depths, divers can make a straight ascent to the surface. Diving beyond this limit requires advanced training.

In general, divers seek locations where the water is clear, the temperatures warm, and the marine life plentiful. Divers often choose to visit areas with coral reefs because they are colorful and dense with life, and provide shelter for many types of fish. The Caribbean is the most popular destination in the world, with many designated marine parks or sanctuaries. The South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea are other common dive destinations. Yet cold-water divers may venture into cold waters when fully equipped with proper exposure protection (such as a thick wet or dry suit) in order to endure the harshness of such climates. *

Canoeing and Kayaking.

SEE ALSO Economic Development ; Recreation ; Rivers, Major World ; Sustainable Development.

William Arthur Atkins

Bibliography

Mill, Robert Christie. The Tourism System: An Introductory Text. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Internet Resources

American Sportfishing Association. American Sportfishing Association. <http://www.asafishing.org/index.cfm> .

Eco-Tourism. Humboldt Water Resources. <http://www.humboldt1.com/~water/info_pages/eco-tourism.html> .

Paddling. Canoe and Kayak Magazine. <http://canoekayak.about.com/> .

PADI Today: News in the World of Diving. Professional Association of Diving Instructors <http://www.padi.com/english.asp> .

Travel Statistics and Trends. tours.com . <http://www.tours.com/travelstats.php> .

* See "Corals and Coral Reefs" for a photograph of a snorkeler.

* See "Glaciers and Ice Sheets" for a photograph of a glacier breaking off (calving) into the sea.

* See "Human Health and the Ocean" for a photograph of a scuba diver in cold water (as evidenced by the insulated dive suit).

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What Is Sustainable Tourism and Why Is It Important?

Sustainable management and socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental impacts are the four pillars of sustainable tourism

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What Makes Tourism Sustainable?

The role of tourists, types of sustainable tourism.

Sustainable tourism considers its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts by addressing the needs of its ecological surroundings and the local communities. This is achieved by protecting natural environments and wildlife when developing and managing tourism activities, providing only authentic experiences for tourists that don’t appropriate or misrepresent local heritage and culture, or creating direct socioeconomic benefits for local communities through training and employment.

As people begin to pay more attention to sustainability and the direct and indirect effects of their actions, travel destinations and organizations are following suit. For example, the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment is aiming to see every New Zealand tourism business committed to sustainability by 2025, while the island country of Palau has required visitors to sign an eco pledge upon entry since 2017.

Tourism industries are considered successfully sustainable when they can meet the needs of travelers while having a low impact on natural resources and generating long-term employment for locals. By creating positive experiences for local people, travelers, and the industry itself, properly managed sustainable tourism can meet the needs of the present without compromising the future.

What Is Sustainability?

At its core, sustainability focuses on balance — maintaining our environmental, social, and economic benefits without using up the resources that future generations will need to thrive. In the past, sustainability ideals tended to lean towards business, though more modern definitions of sustainability highlight finding ways to avoid depleting natural resources in order to keep an ecological balance and maintain the quality of environmental and human societies.

Since tourism impacts and is impacted by a wide range of different activities and industries, all sectors and stakeholders (tourists, governments, host communities, tourism businesses) need to collaborate on sustainable tourism in order for it to be successful.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) , which is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of sustainable tourism, and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) , the global standard for sustainable travel and tourism, have similar opinions on what makes tourism sustainable. By their account, sustainable tourism should make the best use of environmental resources while helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, respect the socio-culture of local host communities, and contribute to intercultural understanding. Economically, it should also ensure viable long-term operations that will provide benefits to all stakeholders, whether that includes stable employment to locals, social services, or contributions to poverty alleviation.

The GSTC has developed a series of criteria to create a common language about sustainable travel and tourism. These criteria are used to distinguish sustainable destinations and organizations, but can also help create sustainable policies for businesses and government agencies. Arranged in four pillars, the global baseline standards include sustainable management, socioeconomic impact, cultural impacts, and environmental impacts.

Travel Tip:

The GSTC is an excellent resource for travelers who want to find sustainably managed destinations and accommodations and learn how to become a more sustainable traveler in general.

Environment 

Protecting natural environments is the bedrock of sustainable tourism. Data released by the World Tourism Organization estimates that tourism-based CO2 emissions are forecast to increase 25% by 2030. In 2016, tourism transport-related emissions contributed to 5% of all man-made emissions, while transport-related emissions from long-haul international travel were expected to grow 45% by 2030.

The environmental ramifications of tourism don’t end with carbon emissions, either. Unsustainably managed tourism can create waste problems, lead to land loss or soil erosion, increase natural habitat loss, and put pressure on endangered species . More often than not, the resources in these places are already scarce, and sadly, the negative effects can contribute to the destruction of the very environment on which the industry depends.

Industries and destinations that want to be sustainable must do their part to conserve resources, reduce pollution, and conserve biodiversity and important ecosystems. In order to achieve this, proper resource management and management of waste and emissions is important. In Bali, for example, tourism consumes 65% of local water resources, while in Zanzibar, tourists use 15 times as much water per night as local residents.

Another factor to environmentally focused sustainable tourism comes in the form of purchasing: Does the tour operator, hotel, or restaurant favor locally sourced suppliers and products? How do they manage their food waste and dispose of goods? Something as simple as offering paper straws instead of plastic ones can make a huge dent in an organization’s harmful pollutant footprint.

Recently, there has been an uptick in companies that promote carbon offsetting . The idea behind carbon offsetting is to compensate for generated greenhouse gas emissions by canceling out emissions somewhere else. Much like the idea that reducing or reusing should be considered first before recycling , carbon offsetting shouldn’t be the primary goal. Sustainable tourism industries always work towards reducing emissions first and offset what they can’t.

Properly managed sustainable tourism also has the power to provide alternatives to need-based professions and behaviors like poaching . Often, and especially in underdeveloped countries, residents turn to environmentally harmful practices due to poverty and other social issues. At Periyar Tiger Reserve in India, for example, an unregulated increase in tourists made it more difficult to control poaching in the area. In response, an eco development program aimed at providing employment for locals turned 85 former poachers into reserve gamekeepers. Under supervision of the reserve’s management staff, the group of gamekeepers have developed a series of tourism packages and are now protecting land instead of exploiting it. They’ve found that jobs in responsible wildlife tourism are more rewarding and lucrative than illegal work.

Flying nonstop and spending more time in a single destination can help save CO2, since planes use more fuel the more times they take off.

Local Culture and Residents

One of the most important and overlooked aspects of sustainable tourism is contributing to protecting, preserving, and enhancing local sites and traditions. These include areas of historical, archaeological, or cultural significance, but also "intangible heritage," such as ceremonial dance or traditional art techniques.

In cases where a site is being used as a tourist attraction, it is important that the tourism doesn’t impede access to local residents. For example, some tourist organizations create local programs that offer residents the chance to visit tourism sites with cultural value in their own countries. A program called “Children in the Wilderness” run by Wilderness Safaris educates children in rural Africa about the importance of wildlife conservation and valuable leadership development tools. Vacations booked through travel site Responsible Travel contribute to the company’s “Trip for a Trip” program, which organizes day trips for disadvantaged youth who live near popular tourist destinations but have never had the opportunity to visit.

Sustainable tourism bodies work alongside communities to incorporate various local cultural expressions as part of a traveler’s experiences and ensure that they are appropriately represented. They collaborate with locals and seek their input on culturally appropriate interpretation of sites, and train guides to give visitors a valuable (and correct) impression of the site. The key is to inspire travelers to want to protect the area because they understand its significance.

Bhutan, a small landlocked country in South Asia, has enforced a system of all-inclusive tax for international visitors since 1997 ($200 per day in the off season and $250 per day in the high season). This way, the government is able to restrict the tourism market to local entrepreneurs exclusively and restrict tourism to specific regions, ensuring that the country’s most precious natural resources won’t be exploited.

Incorporating volunteer work into your vacation is an amazing way to learn more about the local culture and help contribute to your host community at the same time. You can also book a trip that is focused primarily on volunteer work through a locally run charity or non profit (just be sure that the job isn’t taking employment opportunities away from residents).

It's not difficult to make a business case for sustainable tourism, especially if one looks at a destination as a product. Think of protecting a destination, cultural landmark, or ecosystem as an investment. By keeping the environment healthy and the locals happy, sustainable tourism will maximize the efficiency of business resources. This is especially true in places where locals are more likely to voice their concerns if they feel like the industry is treating visitors better than residents.

Not only does reducing reliance on natural resources help save money in the long run, studies have shown that modern travelers are likely to participate in environmentally friendly tourism. In 2019, Booking.com found that 73% of travelers preferred an eco-sustainable hotel over a traditional one and 72% of travelers believed that people need to make sustainable travel choices for the sake of future generations.

Always be mindful of where your souvenirs are coming from and whether or not the money is going directly towards the local economy. For example, opt for handcrafted souvenirs made by local artisans.

Growth in the travel and tourism sectors alone has outpaced the overall global economy growth for nine years in a row. Prior to the pandemic, travel and tourism accounted for an $9.6 trillion contribution to the global GDP and 333 million jobs (or one in four new jobs around the world).

Sustainable travel dollars help support employees, who in turn pay taxes that contribute to their local economy. If those employees are not paid a fair wage or aren’t treated fairly, the traveler is unknowingly supporting damaging or unsustainable practices that do nothing to contribute to the future of the community. Similarly, if a hotel doesn’t take into account its ecological footprint, it may be building infrastructure on animal nesting grounds or contributing to excessive pollution. The same goes for attractions, since sustainably managed spots (like nature preserves) often put profits towards conservation and research.

Costa Rica was able to turn a severe deforestation crisis in the 1980s into a diversified tourism-based economy by designating 25.56% of land protected as either a national park, wildlife refuge, or reserve.

While traveling, think of how you would want your home country or home town to be treated by visitors.

Are You a Sustainable Traveler?

Sustainable travelers understand that their actions create an ecological and social footprint on the places they visit. Be mindful of the destinations , accommodations, and activities you choose, and choose destinations that are closer to home or extend your length of stay to save resources. Consider switching to more environmentally friendly modes of transportation such as bicycles, trains, or walking while on vacation. Look into supporting locally run tour operations or local family-owned businesses rather than large international chains. Don’t engage in activities that harm wildlife, such as elephant riding or tiger petting , and opt instead for a wildlife sanctuary (or better yet, attend a beach clean up or plan an hour or two of some volunteer work that interests you). Leave natural areas as you found them by taking out what you carry in, not littering, and respecting the local residents and their traditions.

Most of us travel to experience the world. New cultures, new traditions, new sights and smells and tastes are what makes traveling so rewarding. It is our responsibility as travelers to ensure that these destinations are protected not only for the sake of the communities who rely upon them, but for a future generation of travelers.

Sustainable tourism has many different layers, most of which oppose the more traditional forms of mass tourism that are more likely to lead to environmental damage, loss of culture, pollution, negative economic impacts, and overtourism.

Ecotourism highlights responsible travel to natural areas that focus on environmental conservation. A sustainable tourism body supports and contributes to biodiversity conservation by managing its own property responsibly and respecting or enhancing nearby natural protected areas (or areas of high biological value). Most of the time, this looks like a financial compensation to conservation management, but it can also include making sure that tours, attractions, and infrastructure don’t disturb natural ecosystems.

On the same page, wildlife interactions with free roaming wildlife should be non-invasive and managed responsibly to avoid negative impacts to the animals. As a traveler, prioritize visits to accredited rescue and rehabilitation centers that focus on treating, rehoming, or releasing animals back into the wild, such as the Jaguar Rescue Center in Costa Rica.

Soft Tourism

Soft tourism may highlight local experiences, local languages, or encourage longer time spent in individual areas. This is opposed to hard tourism featuring short duration of visits, travel without respecting culture, taking lots of selfies , and generally feeling a sense of superiority as a tourist.

Many World Heritage Sites, for example, pay special attention to protection, preservation, and sustainability by promoting soft tourism. Peru’s famed Machu Picchu was previously known as one of the world’s worst victims of overtourism , or a place of interest that has experienced negative effects (such as traffic or litter) from excessive numbers of tourists. The attraction has taken steps to control damages in recent years, requiring hikers to hire local guides on the Inca Trail, specifying dates and time on visitor tickets to negate overcrowding, and banning all single use plastics from the site.

Traveling during a destination’s shoulder season , the period between the peak and low seasons, typically combines good weather and low prices without the large crowds. This allows better opportunities to immerse yourself in a new place without contributing to overtourism, but also provides the local economy with income during a normally slow season.

Rural Tourism

Rural tourism applies to tourism that takes place in non-urbanized areas such as national parks, forests, nature reserves, and mountain areas. This can mean anything from camping and glamping to hiking and WOOFing. Rural tourism is a great way to practice sustainable tourism, since it usually requires less use of natural resources.

Community Tourism

Community-based tourism involves tourism where local residents invite travelers to visit their own communities. It sometimes includes overnight stays and often takes place in rural or underdeveloped countries. This type of tourism fosters connection and enables tourists to gain an in-depth knowledge of local habitats, wildlife, and traditional cultures — all while providing direct economic benefits to the host communities. Ecuador is a world leader in community tourism, offering unique accommodation options like the Sani Lodge run by the local Kichwa indigenous community, which offers responsible cultural experiences in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.

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Kutty, Govindan M., and T.K. Raghavan Nair. " Periyar Tiger Reserve: Poachers Turned Gamekeepers ." Food and Agriculture Organization.

" GSTC Destination Criteria ." Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

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Saving water, the first step towards sustainable tourism

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Tourism is one of the key industries for international economic recovery after the pandemic, especially for developing countries. It is also key for the sustainability of the planet. Reducing the consumption of water is a priority first step.

Saving millions of liters of water, raising the awareness of guests of the importance of sustainable practices, turning them into communication agents in their homes and obtaining donations for aid projects in India , Guatemala and Indonesia are achievements that might have seemed overoptimistic a few years ago. Let’s Make a Deal , the initiative developed during the 2018 tourist season with Diamond Resorts , was able to do it. It was an eye-opening experience of the role of tourism as an effective awareness-raising factor in the importance of sustainability in the use of the water.  

Tourists consume more water than residents and in very different quantities depending on the destinations. © Dayana Brooke-unsplash

In total, 970,000 liters were saved by reducing towel washing alone and 1.02 million were saved by extending the use of sheets. Over 1,500 water filters were installed in toilets and kitchens to allow guests to refill their We Are Water bottles, leading to the saving of more than half a ton of plastic in containers and glasses.

Last October, amidst a crisis in the industry due to the Covid-19 lockdown, architects, developers and professionals of the tourism industry corroborated the importance of these goals at the Smart Water Smart Reaction debate, which took place in the virtual room at the Expo CIHAC Digital in Mexico City.

Saving millions of liters of water, raising the awareness of guests of the importance of sustainable practices and obtaining donations for aid projects in India , Guatemala and Indonesia are achievements that might have seemed overoptimistic a few years ago. © Javier Biscayar

Suzana Gomercic , senior vice president of European operations at Diamond Resorts, summarized the results of the initiative in their European facilities, pointing out that saving water had not been the only success: raising the awareness of guests and of the entire staff was much more revealing and encouraging. This was achieved with the development of educational and fun programs, such as the activities of the Aquanauts program for children and their families. Gomercic highlighted: “Combining sustainability and fun activities is ideal to raise awareness of cooperation and create positive habits that guests took home with them. Proof of the success is that we have managed to raise 40,000 euros in donations for the projects of the Foundation. We really managed to bring the message to life”.

More water is spent at the hotel than at home

Saving water is the first step towards a sustainable tourism industry. It is generally acknowledged that tourists consume more water than residents and in very different quantities depending on the destinations. The World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO ) states that in European hotels, every guest consumes on average around 394 liters per night; in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand, the average rises sharply to 677 liters, while in Barbados the figure rockets to 839 liters.

Sustainable tourism is one of the key industries for international economic recovery after the pandemic . © Shifaaz Shamoon-unsplash

If we compare this data to the consumption of guests in their homes, the contrast is striking: an average European consumes between 120 and 150 liters per day at home. If we consider the case of a citizen in Barcelona or Copenhagen, which consumes around 105 liters per day, one of the lowest consumptions in Europe, we see that they can multiply that consumption by four during their holidays in a Mediterranean hotel and by eight if they spend their vacation in a hotel in Barbados. In tourist destinations, per capita water consumption greatly increases when compared to domestic use.

These data are “per capita”; if we consider consumptions per room, in 2017, in tourist facilities in these countries, the usual consumption reached an average of 2,000 liters per day and in some cases even exceeded 3,400 liters per day.

Unsustainable pressure for many regions in the world

International tourism responds to the sun-and-beach claim: 85% of international tourists go to places with water scarcity, with a tendency to concentrate in the summer season in the northern hemisphere, as this is the part of the world that generates the most holiday travelers. The impact on the water resources of local communities is very high.

Recent research has provided in-depth analysis of consumption, offering data that must lead to reflection. Three months before the global lockdown, the   University of Palma de Mallorca published a must-read study that advocates an urgent change in the management of water and in the environmental responsibility of hotel owners and tour operators.  

These are recommendations that make up the conclusions of the experience of Let’s Make a Deal. The laundry service is an area with a high consumption of water and this is proportional to the number of stars of the facilities. In 3-star hotels it reaches a minimum percentage of 12% of the total consumption, but in luxury hotels located in tropical regions it can reach up to 50% of the total water expenditure, if no measures are taken to contain the laundering of sheets and towels. In these cases, the laundry service is the activity with the highest consumption. 

International tourism responds to the sun-and-beach claim: 85% of international tourists go to places with water scarcity. © dj Nick Otronic-unsplash

On the other hand, water consumption is correlated to electricity use. Efficient management measures and the use of recent technological resources can save an important amount of liters and kilowatts. A  study by British and Spanish researchers estimates that a hotel with 100 rooms can save at least 227 liters per room and night by implementing the right measures. That hotel could save up to 16,573 m 3 of water, 209,541 kWh of energy and 58,436 euros every year.

Encouraging guests to reuse towels and bed sheets and to reduce the duration of their showers can save millions of liters of water all around the world; and many more if WCs with partial flush or faucets with flow limiters are installed. Water sustainability takes a step further in new hotels and resorts , which opt for water recycling for irrigation, the adoption of native flora in gardening, and the collection of rainwater for ecological vegetable gardens. The architecture and design of new tourist destinations are fully embracing smart technologies, using automatic systems that adjust water pressure, detect leaks and monitor consumption.  

The tourism industry is aware of its incalculable potential as a tool for the creation of a sustainability culture, a culture that is one of the main assets to overcome the crisis caused by the pandemic. Even before lockdown, sustainable and environmentally-friendly tourism was key to improving a fair distribution of wealth; now it is even more important. With an estimated 1.8 billion travel arrivals worldwide by 2030, the way tourists consume water will determine the sustainability of the planet.

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Water Management

Water is a key resource in tourism and services to tourists are heavily dependent on it. Water can become a constraint to sustainable development, a limit on tourist activities and an issue of conflict with local residents over allocation and pricing, in particular when water is a scarce resource. While new innovative water supplies can be difficult to obtain and costly (e.g. import, desalinization), conservation is one means to reduce or mitigate demand (e.g. recycling waste or grey water).  For measuring water availability and water conservation a variety of indicators exist, ranging, inter alia, from water use per capita per tourist to water saving and recycled waste and grey water, as well as pricing. In addition to these aspects, measuring the quality of drinking water and sea water are also aspects of interest for tourism and require relevant attention by destinations.  However, monitoring in the area of water management, especially in water scarce areas, keep being a major challenge for many destinations.

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Tourism and Water

Journal of Tourism Futures

ISSN : 2055-5911

Article publication date: 3 April 2017

Cavagnaro, D.E. (2017), "Tourism and Water", Journal of Tourism Futures , Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 81-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-11-2016-0046

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Elena Cavagnaro

Published in the Journal of Tourism Futures. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

The aim of the series “Tourism Essentials” by Channel Book Publications is to publish books based on state of the art research that offer a succinct but comprehensive introduction to a relevant issue in the field of tourism. Tourism and Water by Stefan Gössling, C. Michael Hall and Daniel Scott perfectly fits with this aim. Tourism and Water is grounded in the authors’ intimate knowledge of sustainable tourism in general and water management in tourism in particular. By bringing together information that till now was rather dispersed Tourism and Water offers a true contribution to these fields.

Water is one of the most fundamental, if not the most fundamental resource needed to sustain life on Earth. What we tend to forget is that fresh water is a scarce resource and that tourism is highly dependent on water. Fresh water constitutes only a fraction (2.5 per cent) of the total water on our planet, and less of 1 per cent of fresh water is available for human use. The growing demand on water by an increasing population has to be accommodated by this very limited amount of available fresh water. Water scarcity and water pollution are the consequences of these trends in an increasing number of countries, including countries highly dependent on tourism for their economic development ( Gössling et al. , 2012 ; UNEP, 2003 ). On this background Tourism and Water reminds us that tourism depends on this scarce resource not only because major tourism destinations are located in coastal areas or along rivers and lakes, but also because water is needed to sustain all processes that make a tourism experience possible. From here the need to address the interrelationships between tourism and water in a comprehensive and systematic way as Tourism and Water proposes.

Five compact chapters compose Tourism and Water . The first chapter is dedicated to a global overview of water issues and focusses on human appropriation of fresh water resources. This chapter also briefly explains the complexities around water measurement. The second chapter is dedicated to the linkages between water and tourism. It shows that water use in tourism destinations is spatially and seasonally concentrated. It is seasonally concentrated because tourism tends to happen in specific seasons, such as the summer for coastal destinations and the winter for sky resorts. Spatial concentration reflects tourists’ flows from, for example, North European to South European countries and from North America to the Caribbean. Tourists’ flows cause a shift in water use, leading to an increase in water usage at the destination and a decrease in water use in the country of origin of the tourists. Spatial and seasonal concentration in water demand often intensifies water stress and competition for water at the destination. With the projected growth of tourism, and even considering efficiency gains, water consumption – the authors conclude – will increase. This trend renders the need for proper water management for tourism destinations and the organisations involved in it paramount.

Proper water management needs measurement, and therefore the third chapter is dedicated to measuring water use in tourism. In this chapter the exhaustiveness of Tourism and Water may be the best appreciated. The chapter opens with a figure distinguishing three levels of water consumption: direct water use, such as the water needed for irrigation or laundry; indirect water use, such as the water embodied in energy and food; and systemic water use including all other processes in the tourism chain, such as employee transportation and marketing activities, that also incur a water cost. The notion of embodied water is rather new, and Tourism and Water dedicates ample space to a much-needed summary of the research results so far.

Managing water consumption is the focus of the fourth chapter. Here the authors maintain the promise given in the introduction to approach water conservation from a managerial and technological perspective. Consequently, Tourism and Water summarises both the processes needed to design and implement a proper water management system, and the technical options available. Fortunately, though, Tourism and Water also considers the attitudinal and behavioural causes of water over-usage and offers a short but clear summary of interventions aimed at nudging both staff and guests towards a water conscious attitude and behaviour.

From a future studies perspective, the most interesting chapter is the last one. On the basis of a trend analysis of population growth, economic developments and environmental challenges (such as climate change) this chapter discusses water security and water developments in the future. The conclusion is rather pessimistic because the three analysed developments concur in decreasing water security and increasing the risk of water related conflicts. Due to the interrelatedness of water and tourism on one side and the projected increase in tourism and tourism-related water demands in the next decades, tourism is the economic activity facing the major risks in the future. Therefore Tourism and Water closes with a call for action both by global and local organisations to secure the future of tourism through a true engagement with water management and conservation. Possibly, by connecting a scenario planning approach to trend forecasting, Tourism and Water could have offered more substantial solutions for securing tourism future than a call for action.

As it is clear from the above review, Tourism and Water offers a timely and welcome contribution to the field of water and tourism studies. It presents, however, some weaknesses. The completeness of the data presented both in the text and in the tables may be a bit overwhelming for the reader. In some sections, the shear amount of data offered makes reading a painstaking process. This issue is compounded by the book’s lay out: tables, graphs, photos and text boxes are inserted without due consideration to the text flow. On the positive side, the index helps the reader in connecting the dots of the five dense chapters. Case studies are also helpful: they exemplify the managerial implications and intricacies of applying in practice water saving policies and systems. Most of these cases are based on recent, original research by the authors and therefore contribute to the relevance of Tourism and Water for the field. Sometimes though, such as in Text Box 4.4, conclusions are drawn from a limited sample. In these case a bit more caution in presenting the results would have been welcome.

Concluding, the few weaknesses present in Tourism and Water disappear in front of the major contribution of this book: to offer an handsome and powerful overview of a fascinating and vital issue for the future of tourism.

Gössling , S. , Peeters , P. , Hall , C.M. , Ceron , J.-P. , Dubois , G. , Lehmann , L.V. and Scott , D. ( 2012 ), “ Tourism and water use: supply, demand, and security ”, An International Review: Tourism Management , Vol. 33 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 15 , available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.03.015 (accessed 10 February 2017 ).

UNEP ( 2003 ), A Manual for Water and Waste Management: What the Tourism Industry can do to Improve its Performance , UNEP , Paris , available at: http://bit.ly/14tuxpa (accessed 10 February 2017 ).

About the author

UAS Professor of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism at the Academy of International Hospitality Research, Stenden University of Applied Science, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

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Healthy Water-Based Tourism Experiences: Their Contribution to Quality of Life, Satisfaction and Loyalty

Ana maría campón-cerro.

1 Department of Business Management and Sociology, School of Business Studies and Tourism, University of Extremadura, Avda. de la Universidad s/n, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; se.xenu@zedrehmj

Elide Di-Clemente

2 Department of Business Management and Sociology, Research Institutes, LAB 0L3, University of Extremadura, Avda. de las Ciencias s/n, 10004 Cáceres, Spain; se.xenu@etnemelcide

José Manuel Hernández-Mogollón

José antonio folgado-fernández.

3 Department of Financial Economics and Accounting, School of Business Studies and Tourism, University of Extremadura Avda. de la Universidad s/n, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; se.xenu@odaglofaj

The scientific literature on tourism identifies two driving trends: the quest for experientiality and the growing connection between holidays and quality of life. The present research focuses on water-based activities practiced with a healthy purpose, capable of driving positive economic, social and environmental effects on the territory where this type of tourism is developed. Considering the growing demand of experiential tourism, it is important to assess the experiential value of these practices and their impact on the quality of life, satisfaction and loyalty. A sample of 184 customers of thermal spas and similar establishments was used to test the structural model proposed, employing the partial least squares technique. The results show the experiential value of healthy water-based activities and confirm their positive impact on the individuals’ quality of life, satisfaction and loyalty towards both the experience and the destination.

1. Introduction

The tourism industry is undergoing a substantial change. The advance in new technologies and a skilled and demanding consumer target means that the organisations and destinations need new marketing and management tools to meet the modern tourists’ expectations and the industry’s requirements for innovation [ 1 ].

The scientific literature on tourism issues identifies two driving trends: the quest for experientiality and the growing connection existing between holidaymaking and perceived improvements in individuals’ quality of life. The former is forcing the tourism sector to face a new competitive scenario. Increasing importance is being given to the emotional value of the tourism experiences offered, leaving in the background their functional properties [ 2 ]. The latter is a facet of the tourism phenomenon which is gaining momentum in recent times. Tourism literature has shown a growing consensus about the benefits that individuals can get from tourism experiences and meaningful travel [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ].

In this new experiential stream, tourism businesses face the challenge of changing their business and commercial strategies and improving the affective components of their products, that is, being able to deliver pleasant sensations and memories to the consumer, as well as ensuring the practical functionality of the goods/services offered [ 7 ]. The functional qualities of a tourism proposal are no longer considered differentiators and are not enough to capture the attention and the preferences of consumers.

Considering the preceding, the tourism industry is in need of drawing innovative tourism proposals in line with the recent requirements of modern tourists who see in holidaymaking a possible avenue to pursue happiness [ 8 ]. However, still very little is known about how tourism contributes to quality of life and whether some specific practices are more suitable than others to turn holidays into significant enhancers of personal happiness [ 9 ].

According to Nawijn [ 10 ], ‘in the light of the experience economy’ (p. 560), the tourism industry could improve its performance and foster the effect that holidays have on happiness, giving more attention to the experiential content of the tourism offered, and thus, understanding what causes happiness. The author realises that certain types of holidays are worth further examination to this extent, as they show the potential to positively impact tourists’ happiness. The ones he suggests are wellness tourism, promulgating physical and psychological recovery, or slow tourism, suggesting people should travel with slower means of transport in order to enjoy the trip and experience relaxed rhythms. Based on this consideration, the present research focuses on water-related activities practiced with a healthy purpose, that besides their experiential potential due to the sensorial properties of water (unique touch, sounds, flavours, colours, cold or hot feelings, etc.), accomplish the objective of preserving water resources and ecosystems from contamination, which is often the case of the touristic use of water [ 11 , 12 ]. In fact, natural water resources, such as rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands, aquifers and estuaries, are often jeopardised by people’s use, forcing a change in water policies and management [ 13 ].

Water is for sure a resource with an inestimable environmental value, which unfortunately is not sufficient to preserve it from misuses. Draper [ 14 ] points out that a wise management of water resources needs a commitment with a dynamic economy, social equity and healthy environment. Even if tourism is traditionally considered a water-consuming industry whose impact on its conservation is usually assessed to be more negative than positive, it is possible to encourage a proper and sustainable tourism use of water resources.

Tourism can contribute to this objective by means of giving to intangible water heritages a tangible value, that is, an economic (besides environmental) value in order to save it and its connected water-based ecosystems and biodiversity from destruction. Water-based experiences are potential solutions to preserve both the environmental and the economic value of water, and its tangible and intangible heritage [ 15 ]. However, Essex et al. [ 16 ] claim that ‘there is little research on the significance of water in tourism development’ (p. 6). In the same line, Jennings [ 17 ] maintains that the theme of water-based experiences in tourism has been little explored. Therefore, this work turns the spotlight onto tourism experiences based on water natural resources and settings with the aim of exploring their touristic value within the new experiential context.

Luo et al. [ 18 ] assert that experience economy research has not focused on the customer experience in wellness tourism, and also claim that it is relevant to understand how visitors achieve a bettering of their quality of life through this type of tourism.

The most renowned water-based activities related to health are the visits to thermal spas and similar establishments (spas, Arab baths, etc.) [ 17 ]. However, there are other activities that involve water as a key element, and these are the enjoyment of landscapes and soundscapes related to water, visiting fluvial beaches, trekking through routes with water resources, enjoying river boat trips and watching aquatic birds. Moreover, drinking mineral and medicinal waters provides significant benefits for human health. Restaurants have begun offering a water menu along with the wine menu. The recent concern about health and wellbeing that characterises modern society involves water as a functional element, where a conscious consumption can enhance personal wellness. This trend contributes to generating a new ‘water culture’ [ 19 ] that can lead to the development of innovative initiatives in the tourism sector, addressed to those consumers who will benefit from water properties in places where this element is a central attraction. The rise of a new ‘water culture’ can have beneficial effects on both individuals’ health and on tourism destinations’ economies.

Therefore, it is important to assess the potential of these tourism experiences linked to water and health and their impact on outcome variables such as the tourists’ satisfaction, loyalty and quality of life. Water-based experiences can generate long-term revenue, driving positive behavioural intentions. The main objective of this research is to analyse water-based tourism experiences as a strategy capable of fostering the tourists’ satisfaction, quality of life, and positive future behaviours. As a consequence, water-based experiences could be assumed as capable of enhancing the economic, social and environmental sustainability of a destination where singular hydrographical resources are placed. This work tries to assess tourism activities based on binomial water-health through the experience model proposed by Pine and Gilmore [ 20 ]. This is an original contribution to tourism research as it is the first attempt: (1) to obtain an integrative perspective about the phenomenon of tourism experiences based on water and health; (2) to offer new ideas for tourism products development using water in a non-consumptive way, in line with the modern tourists’ demand of experientiality and wellbeing; (3) to test whether water-based activities accomplish the objective of enhancing individuals’ quality of life which, in turn, can contribute to driving tourists’ loyal behaviours.

The results achieved offer insightful ideas for the elaboration of new experiential proposals and show marketers and practitioners the most suitable actions to undertake in order to satisfy current tourism demand, expecting travel to be a changing and once-in-a-lifetime experience, using water as a tourism attraction from an environmentally respectful perspective.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. experiential tourism: the experience and its dimensions.

The theoretical background that supports the hypotheses’ definition and operationalization of the concepts involved in this research has to be seen in the theory of experience economy and its application in the tourism industry. The rise of the experiential trend in modern economies is nowadays bringing the hospitality and tourism sector into a new competitive stage. New technological advances and the easy access to information have meant that those elements traditionally designed to differentiate what is being offered in the market can be easily replicated by competitors, nullifying their differential power and making them interchangeable in consumers’ eyes [ 21 ]. According to Jensen and Prebensen [ 22 ], experience-based tourism can be considered an offer that differentiates itself from more conventional tourism practices due to its intangible and emotional value which is what modern tourists seek and appreciate most in their holiday time. Therefore, the tourism industry faces the challenge of turning its proposals into experiences and providing what is currently being offered with a new emotional and intangible value in order to identify new competitive advantages [ 23 ].

Water and tourism have traditionally been studied from two different focal points: the environmental concern, as tourism activities are water-consuming and polluting practices [ 11 ]; and the health and wellness perspective, with a specific reference to thermal and spa activities [ 24 , 25 ]. This work considers the water-tourism connections under this second approach and highlights the experiential value of water-related tourism practices.

Health and wellness tourism has recently been a focus of attraction in tourism research as, nowadays, people are particularly sensitive to safeguarding their personal wellness and conducting a healthy lifestyle [ 3 ]. As a consequence, the concept of health has widened its boundaries, being a synonym for happiness, wellbeing and long life, and more than just the absence of diseases [ 25 ]. This new social consciousness introduces some changes regarding tourists’ decisions and preferences and offers some new opportunities for tourism destinations’ management and innovation.

Besides rest and relaxation, physical and psychological recovery, modern tourists have an expectation of personal enrichment in their holidays [ 26 ]. In this line, experiential travel and healthy practices may provide benefits to tourists beyond satisfaction and enjoyment [ 4 ], contributing to enhancing their perception of personal quality of life [ 8 , 9 ].

Pine and Gilmore [ 20 ] made the most significant contribution to the definition of the experience concept. The authors developed a conceptual model defining experiences which has been largely applied to assessing experientiality in different tourism contexts [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The authors describe experiences by means of two dimensions: participation and connection, embedded in a spectrum from passive to active, and from absorption to immersion. The participation implies that consumers are impacted by the experience, while the connection dimension assesses the degree to which the tourists themselves impact the experience, contributing to its creation [ 20 ]. The intersection of these two dimensions gives birth to four realms defining the experience concept, also known as the 4Es’ model, as its components are entertainment, education, esthetics and escape.

The water-related activities considered in this research have a high experiential potential. At a conceptual level they fit the model proposed by Pine and Gilmore [ 20 ]. With regard to the ‘escape’ component, these activities are often held in outstanding natural settings which induce the feeling of escaping from the daily contexts. The physical contact with water has a relaxing power due to the feeling of the lack of body weight perceived while immersed. Therefore, tourists who decide to practice these activities have, in water, an effective vehicle to escape from stress and routine. The ‘esthetics’ dimension is provided by the beauty of the landscapes related to water. Healthy water-related activities are ‘educational’ as tourists who choose these practices can learn about the beneficial properties of water for human health and differentiate between the kinds of waters and the effects of its uses. Finally, water-based experiences provide ‘entertainment’ with activities such as observing landscapes, the contemplation of sounds and the colours of water, and the enjoyment of baths and water-treatments.

2.2. Variables and Hypotheses Definition

2.2.1. experiential satisfaction.

According to Kim et al. [ 30 ], research on travel and tourism has largely examined the tourists’ satisfaction concept. Similarly, Neal and Gursoy [ 31 ] assert that customer satisfaction is frequently examined for being a topic capable of enhancing the destination’s competitiveness by means of inducing loyal behaviors and intentions of revisiting the destination in the future [ 32 ].

The new experiential push that pervaded the tourism industry, as well as the whole modern economy, entailed some changes in the treatment of satisfaction. This variable has been traditionally considered to be predicted by functional factors (i.e., quality, value and image) [ 30 , 33 ]. However, few researches offer useful insights demonstrating that new affective and emotional concepts, such as pleasure, arousal, joy, love, positive surprise, mood and hedonics, are gradually integrating [ 7 , 34 , 35 ] or even substituting the traditional utility-based approach to satisfaction [ 7 , 36 , 37 ]. Satisfaction is considered a key driver for customer experience assessment [ 38 ].

Scientific literature provides numerous evidences supporting the relationship between emotions and satisfaction [ 36 ] and shows that a growing consensus exists on the need to incorporate emotional and affective components in the assessment of this variable [ 39 ]. Lin and Kuo [ 40 ] found proof of the relationship between tourist experience and satisfaction. Agyeiwaah et al. [ 41 ] demonstrate the relationship in the context of culinary tourism, Ali et al. [ 42 ] in creative tourism, and more specifically, Luo et al. [ 18 ] in wellness tourism experiences.

According to Pine and Gilmore [ 43 ] the 4Es’ model leads to satisfaction. Some researchers have already tested the relationship between the experience concept and satisfaction. Oh et al. [ 29 ] found significant evidence linking the esthetic component of the experience and satisfaction. Similarly, Hosany and Witham [ 28 ] demonstrated that esthetics and entertainment significantly contribute to satisfaction. Quadri-Felitti and Fiore [ 27 ] empirically showed the positive relationship between education and esthetics on satisfaction. Considering the preceding, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Healthy water-based experiences have a positive impact on tourists’ experiential satisfaction.

2.2.2. Quality of Life

Holidays are generally considered events that increase wellbeing and quality of life [ 44 ]. Research on quality of life regarding the tourism experience is an emerging area of study, considered as an important field of tourism studies because of its relationship with short-term and long-term effects on individuals, on businesses, and on society [ 38 ]. According to Luo et al. [ 18 ] since the past decade, wellness tourism has been a booming industry, making it relevant to understand how visitors achieve quality of life through the wellness experience, in which healthy water-based tourism experiences has to be included.

Connections between tourism and quality of life have started to be explored and have recently become a focus in tourism studies [ 45 ]. Many authors started to test the potential relationship that exists between tourism experiences, travellers’ satisfaction and tourists’ happiness [ 3 , 8 , 9 , 46 , 47 ]. Gilbert and Abdullah [ 48 ] suggest that holidaymaking can improve the level of happiness experienced by tourists. Similarly, Puczkó and Smith [ 49 ] define holidays as ‘a state of temporary happiness’ (p. 265) associated with some specific activities and behaviours that people have while on holidays.

Neal et al. [ 46 ] in their study on vacation experience and quality of life showed that satisfaction with tourism services is a positive determinant of overall quality of life. More specifically, within the experiential context, Kim et al. [ 26 ] confirms that a strong relationship links satisfaction with a travel experience together with the individuals’ perception of their overall quality of life. Luo et al. [ 18 ] found that in wellness tourism visitors’ satisfaction with experiences predict quality of life. This supports the following hypothesis:

Experience satisfaction has a positive impact on tourists’ quality of life.

2.2.3. Loyalty

Loyalty is a traditional marketing outcome where the importance has been increasingly recognised in tourism and hospitality research [ 50 ]. Satisfaction is often considered a significant determinant of loyalty and future behaviour intentions [ 51 , 52 ]. It could be thought that providing satisfying experiences will possibly drive loyal behaviours in the future, which usually coincides with positive word-of-mouth and revisiting intentions. However, the tourism market is in constant change and new trends in consumers’ desires and needs bring tourism marketing to face ever-new challenges that make it more difficult for the plain satisfaction-loyalty binomial to remain effective. Kim and Ritchie [ 53 ] maintain that satisfaction alone is no longer enough to drive positive future behaviours, as researches have noted that more than the 60% of satisfied costumers decide to switch to another firm. Thus, it has to be recognized that, in order for satisfaction to effectively result in loyal intentions, some other components should intervene.

Experientiality is challenging the traditional idea of loyalty [ 54 , 55 ]. The tourists’ search for unique experiences and wanderlust are forcing a reassessment of the concept in light of new experientiality. In this context, loyalty should be, on one hand, addressed towards new experience-related objects, rather than the destination (i.e., the kind of experience itself), and on the other, new antecedents should be involved in the loyalty-forming process (i.e., quality of life). As a consequence, this research considers loyalty towards two objects: the destination and the water-based experiences. In addition, quality of life is introduced in the conceptual model as an antecedent of both variables considered for loyalty.

Within the experiential literature, some studies confirm that experiential satisfaction is a direct antecedent of behavioural intentions [ 56 , 57 , 58 ] and that quality of life, or similar concepts, is a new antecedent of loyalty [ 26 , 54 , 59 ].

Literature points out that positive tourism experiences could enhance repeat visits and recommendations [ 41 ]. Wu and colleagues [ 56 , 57 , 58 ] provide empirical evidences supporting the theoretical relationship that links the experiential satisfaction with loyalty. The authors in their studies on theme parks [ 58 ], the golf industry [ 56 ] and heritage tourism [ 57 ] confirm that experiential satisfaction leads to loyal behaviours in the future. Other authors in other tourism contexts verified that relationship [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. These results offer a valuable support to the following hypotheses:

Experiential satisfaction has a positive impact on loyalty to the experience.

Experiential satisfaction has a positive impact on loyalty to the destination.

With regard to the consideration of quality of life as a direct antecedent of loyalty, some valuable insights can be found in Kim et al. [ 26 ], Lin [ 54 ] and Kim et al. [ 59 ].

Kim et al. [ 59 ], in their study on chain restaurants, confirm that consumers’ wellbeing perceptions are the most powerful antecedents of future positive behaviours. Lin [ 54 ] shows that cuisine experiences and psychological wellbeing are important determinants of revisit intentions. Kim et al. [ 26 ], following a structural path starting from elderly tourists’ involvement in tourism experiences and resulting in revisiting intentions, showed how satisfaction and quality of life contribute to determine the tourists desire to revisit the destination. Their results confirm that quality of life is an effective predictor of loyal behaviours. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:

Quality of life has a positive impact on loyalty to the experience.

Quality of life has a positive impact on loyalty to the destination.

The hypothesized relationships are graphically presented in Figure 1 .

Theoretical model.

3. Methodology

The study setting is the region of Extremadura, a southwest region of Spain, where water has been traditionally seen as an abundant resource. However, growing irrigation demands under a low price are outstripping the supply of raw water and competing with other uses [ 60 ], a challenge that could be faced with sustainable tourism practices. The region relies on more than 1500 kilometres of inland water, more than 60 natural-based bath areas and 7 thermal spas, according to the Touristic Plan of Extremadura 2017–2020 promoted by the Government of Extremadura. The data shapes the region as a destination to enjoy diverse tourism water experiences, and thus an excellent place to locate this study.

This research relied on an exploratory study using quantitative methodology to evaluate the proposed model through analyses based on structural equation modelling (SEM), due to its capacity to test several relationships established in a model that emerges from theory [ 61 ].

The population was identified in customers of thermal spas of Extremadura and other similar establishments. The tool used for data collection was a self-administered paper-based survey, complemented with an online survey.

The scales used to measure the variables of the model were validated in previous studies and have been adapted to the context of this research (see Table 1 ).

Scales used.

The questionnaire used multi-item scales rather than one-item scales, as suggested by MacKenzie et al. [ 63 ]. The indicators were measured on a five-point Likert scale.

The questionnaire was distributed to the customers enjoying thermal spa visits and other similar water-based experiences in Extremadura. The dissemination of the questionnaires was conducted using two procedures: a paper-based questionnaire in thermal establishments and an online questionnaire. To ensure that no biases were introduced in data analysis due to the use of two collecting procedures, a t-test for independent samples was performed. The results confirm the equality of means between the two groups of data. Only 2 out of 32 indicators showed statistically significant differences, thus the potential bias was minimal and can be assumed. The two subsamples have been unified for the model assessment.

A total of 184 completed questionnaires were collected between 3th of November and 24th of December of 2017, using a non-probability convenience sampling. The sample size is suitable as it accomplishes the criterion proposed by Hair et al. [ 64 ], who propose a minimum value for the item-response ratio between 1:5 and 1:10.

Following Hair et al.’s [ 61 ] guidelines, the partial least square (PLS) technique was considered the most appropriate method for the assessment of the hypothesised model versus models based on covariances, considering that it contains a second-order construct (experience) and reflective and formative indicators, thus a complex model structure. It is also appropriate for relatively small samples, as in this study. In addition, the PLS algorithm transforms non-normal data, so results are robust to the condition of normality [ 65 ]. The SmartPLS 2.0 M3 software (SmartPLS GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) was employed for the model evaluation, while the descriptive analysis and the collinearity test were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 22 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA)

4.1. Sample Profile

The sample was composed of 37.0% men and 57.6% women. Within this research, the tourists visiting thermal spas in Extremadura (Spain) came from other Spanish regions (56.7%), had a mature age (59.8% were ‘more than 55 years old’) and a high education level (36.4%) (see Table 2 ).

Socio-demographic sample profile ( n = 184).

Regarding the frequency that this sample engages in tourism experiences linked to the binomial water-health, 34.2% asserts that they only ‘sometimes’ practice this kind of activity, and 31.0% said ‘frequently’. This result points out that the users of thermal spas surveyed are loyal to tourism water-related experiences. With respect to the interest that respondents have in water-based experiences, the most valued one was ‘visiting health spas’ (3.87 out of 5 points), followed by ‘observing landscapes related to water’ (3.68), ‘visiting fluvial beaches’ (3.41) and ‘trekking routes related to water’ (3.35). It is important to highlight that the other rated activities, which were ‘visiting spas’, ‘river boat trips’, ‘watching aquatic birds’ and ‘asking for water menus in a restaurant’ have achieved a mean over 2.5. Respondents recognise the benefit that water-based tourism experiences have on health, considering the high scores registered by this indicator (4.24 out of 5). The sample also confirms a high interest in including water-based experiences in their trips (4.01). Hence, these activities reckon with the potential of a latent tourism demand. In addition, respondents appreciate water-based tourism experiences as potential enhancers of personal health (4.01) (see Table 3 ).

Opinion about water-based experiences.

4.2. Analysis of The Model

4.2.1. measurement model assessment.

Since the proposed model is multidimensional, the two-stage approach was selected for its assessment [ 66 ]. In order to perform the model assessment, this study followed the guidelines proposed by Wright et al. [ 67 ]. Following MacKenzie et al.’s indications [ 63 ], the constructs taken into account in the first step were considered reflective. Consequently, the measurement model was evaluated to assess the items’ reliability, internal consistency, convergent validity and discriminant validity [ 61 ]. Regarding individual reliability, all the indicators are above the acceptable threshold of 0.707 [ 61 , 68 ]. Construct reliability was measured through composite reliability (CR). According to Nunnally and Bernstein [ 69 ], the values obtained in this study are acceptable, being in the range of 0.60–0.70 (see Table 4 ).

Descriptive statistics and measurement model assessment: reflective indicators (I).

Note: a Critical t -values: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns not significant (based on t (4999), one-tailed test); t (0.05; 4999) = 1.645; t (0.01; 4999) = 2.327; t (0.001; 4999) = 3.092. b Composite reliability. c Average variance extracted.

With regard to convergent validity, the average variance extracted (AVE) is above 0.50, so all the constructs fall into the adequate parameters according to Hair et al. [ 61 ] (see Table 4 ). Discriminant validity is confirmed when the correlations between the constructs are lower than the square root of the AVE (values in bold in Table 5 ) [ 68 ].

Discriminant validity assessment (I).

a Quality of life. b Educational. c Entertainment. d Esthetics. e Escape. f Destination loyalty. g Experience loyalty. h Experience Satisfaction.

The scores resulting from the first step can now be used for the second step in order to model the second-order construct (experience). The aggregated scores, calculated by PLS for the experience construct, generate a new set of data to be used in the following analysis. The model shows a novel nomological structure, including reflective and formative variables, that needs to be assessed in its measurement and structural validity. The experience construct now acts as formative [ 63 ]. Moreover, the dimensionality of experience, proposed by Pine and Gilmore [ 20 ], has been widely confirmed in previous research and this is assumed to be further evidence supporting the formative nature of the construct.

The reflective measurement model was analysed by repeating the steps described above. The analysis of items’ reliability, CR and AVE revealed a satisfactory evaluation (see Table 6 ).

Measurement model assessment: reflective indicators (II).

Table 7 shows that discriminant validity is demonstrated.

Discriminant validity assessment (II).

a Quality of life. b Destination loyalty. c Experience loyalty. d Experience Satisfaction.

The evaluation of a formative measurement model required an examination of any possible multicollinearity between the indicators, an assessment of the weight of each indicator and a review of their significance. For all the indicators, the variance inflation factor (VIF) was below 5 [ 61 ]. Therefore, no problem was found with multicollinearity between the indicators of the experience construct. The weights of the indicators entertainment and escape are statistically significant. However, the weights of the indicators educational and escape are not significant. Nevertheless, some authors recommend maintaining the items, as long as their loadings are statistically significant, at a confidence level of 99%, and absence of multicollinearity is assured [ 70 ] (see Table 8 ).

Collinearity statistics and analysis of formative indicators.

a Variance inflation factor. b Critical t -values: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns not significant (based on t (4999), two-tailed test); t (0.05; 4999) = 1.65; t (0.01; 4999) = 1.96; t (0.001; 4999) = 2.58. c Educational. d Entertainment. e Esthetics. f Escape.

4.2.2. Structural Model Assessment

R 2 of each dependent construct needs to be analysed, as well as the paths’ significance, by using the bootstrapping method [ 61 ]. Table 7 shows the R 2 values for the endogenous variables. The best explained variable is experience loyalty (67.1% or substantial-moderate), followed by destination loyalty (64.7% or substantial-moderate), experience satisfaction (51.9% or moderate) and, finally, quality of life (46.0% or moderate). This table also shows how much the predictive variables contribute to the explained variance of the endogenous variables [ 71 ]. The analysis of the structural paths’ significance was done with the bootstrapping method, following Hair et al.’s [ 61 ] guidelines. All the hypotheses are statistically significant (see Table 9 ).

Effects on endogenous variables and structural model results.

Notes: a R 2 value of 0.75, 0.5 or 0.25 for the latent endogenous variables in structural models can be considered substantial, moderate or weak, respectively [ 61 ]. b Critical t -values: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns not significant (based on t (4999), one-tailed test); t (0.05; 4999) = 1.645; t (0.01; 4999) = 2.327; t (0.001; 4999) = 3.092.

Figure 2 graphically presents the results of the measurement and structural model assessment.

Graphical summary of the model assessment. * ENT: Entertainment. EDU: Educational. ESC: Escape. EST: Esthetics. EXP: Experience. ESA: Experience Satisfaction. QOL: Quality of life. ELO: Experience loyalty. DLO: Destination loyalty.

5. Discussion

The model proposed in this study provides a better comprehension of the impact of healthy water-based tourism experiences in perceived quality of life, satisfaction and loyalty. It has been empirically validated supporting all the model hypotheses established from the literature review. Thus, the results show the importance of offering experiential value with tourism products in the context of tourism experiences based on water and health. The model offers a substantial-moderate capacity to explain the variation of the endogenous variables, which are experience satisfaction (R 2 = 51.9%), quality of life (R 2 = 46.0%), experience loyalty (R 2 = 67.1%) and destination loyalty (R 2 = 64.7%). It is worth noting the role of experience satisfaction in determining experience loyalty (42.4%) and destination loyalty (56.4%). The positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty has been largely confirmed in scientific literature [ 51 , 52 ] and it is further proven in the context of healthy water-based tourism experiences.

It is important to highlight the positive impact that the experience variable exerts on experience satisfaction (β = 0.720 ***) (H1+). This result is consistent with past research [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], and more specifically with Luo et al.’s [ 18 ] research that verified the relationship between wellness tourism experience and satisfaction.

An assessment of the dimensionality of the experience reveals that entertainment and esthetics are the most determining factors of the construct. This result is closely related to the outcomes reached by Oh et al. [ 29 ] and Hosany and Witham [ 28 ] who found a key role of these components versus education and escape. Similarly, Quadri-Felitti and Fiore [ 27 ] identified the impact of esthetic on satisfaction. According to Oh et al. [ 29 ], these findings suggest the relative importance of the four realms of the experience proposed by Pine and Gilmore [ 20 ] depending on the study context. The results of this research, showing the remarkable relevance of the entertainment and esthetics dimensions, is reasonable if considering that baths and water treatments are enjoyable practices and that water with its shapes, sounds, movements and colours embellishes outdoor and indoor spaces.

The education and escape dimensions turned out to be of lower importance. Regarding the former, an explanation exists that can be found in the low consciousness about the properties that water has on human health, and a general lack of ‘water culture’. The latter can be explained by the therapeutic focus of many thermal spas and similar establishments. This can introduce the feeling of being involved in medical practices to address health problems or ailments more than in pleasant activities capable of taking tourists away from daily problems and worries. This may suggest the importance of complementing the traditional thermal spas’ offerings with new proposals related with the enjoyment of water and more focus on wellbeing rather than on health. In short, education and escape may become more important dimensions when a water culture has gained force.

Even if statistics do not fully support the role of education and escape as determining factors of the experience construct as their weights turned out to be non-significant, they still make a contribution to the definition of the experience variable according to their loadings’ scores (see Table 6 ). Therefore, they cannot be disregarded.

Regarding the link between experience satisfaction and the individual’s quality of life (H2+), the findings of this study are consistent with the ones obtained by Neal et al. [ 46 ] and Kim et al. [ 26 ]. The results also confirm the strength of this relationship (β = 0.678 ***), concluding that healthy tourism water-based experiences are effective enhancers of quality of life.

In line with Neal et al. [ 46 ], this research supports the idea that the tourism industry provides ‘experiences that offer enduring types of satisfaction that positively impact the overall quality of life of those participating in the tourism experience’ (p. 162). These results are also in accordance with Luo et al.’s [ 18 ] findings in wellness tourism.

The proposed model also demonstrates the relationship between experience satisfaction and loyalty in accordance with general marketing literature [ 52 ] and similar studies [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Following other authors [ 54 , 55 ], this work challenges the traditional conceptualisation of loyalty by considering two objects towards which loyal behaviours can be prompted: the destination and the kind of experience itself. Under this original approach, this research confirms the direct impact that experiential satisfaction exerts on both experiential loyalty (H3+) (β = 0.545 ***) and on destination loyalty (H4+) (β = 0.707 ***).

This study also finds support for the relationship between quality of life and loyalty, which is in line with the outcomes of other authors [ 26 , 54 , 59 ], validating the importance of quality of life as an effective predictor of loyalty behaviours. However, some specifications are needed in the context of this research. The direct impact that quality of life has on destination loyalty is low (H6+) (β = 0.135 *) if compared with the one it exerts on experiential loyalty (H5+) (β = 0.346 ***). Then, it can be affirmed that in experiential contexts with healthy water-based tourism, the perceived enhancement of quality of life is a more effective driver of loyal intentions towards the experience rather than for loyalty towards the destination. Therefore, experiences appear to be more valuable tools than destinations in the loyalty formation process, which is possibly even more noticeable in experiences that have the potential of enhancing an individual’s health.

The positive results obtained by the proposed model support the suitability of considering healthy water-based tourism experiences as a strategy which capitalises water in a sustainable way and fosters economic and social benefits. The former are achieved with the creation of an innovative tourism proposal capable of diversifying the offer of a territory that counts with bodies of water that have marked the landscapes and lifestyles. This diversification of the tourism industry has a positive direct impact on economic revenues and employment. The latter, that is, are social benefits that are referred to two beneficiaries: tourists and residents. Travellers directly benefit from the contact of a new tourism attraction that provides them physical and mental wellbeing and recovery. Indirectly, residents can enjoy the network of infra-structures and services developed for the water-based tourism activity, even more important in rural and depopulated settings. Thus, quality of life is not only promoted for tourists, but also for the residents of the territories in which the tourism activity is developed.

In addition, it is essential to take into account the development of this type of destination and tourism products from a structured planning point of view. In tourism it is vital to plan bearing in mind the application of sustainable criteria, which is more important in fragile settings such as the ones with water resources. This is one of the most important requirements to implement a successful tourism development strategy in the long term.

6. Conclusions

In this work we explore the impact that tourism water-based activities practiced with a healthy purpose have on significant marketing outcomes such as satisfaction, loyalty and individuals’ quality of life. By applying the 4Es’ model [ 20 ], the dimensions of entertainment and esthetics were the most influential in creating experiences in the context considered for this study. As other authors did before in different contexts [ 27 , 28 , 29 ], this research validated, for the first time, the 4Es’ model in water-and-health tourism.

This work offers an original perspective on how tourism experiences based on water and health can be considered and implemented as a strategy. The main contribution of the study is the confirmation that water-based practices offer experiential value to tourists and exert a positive impact on tourists’ quality of life, satisfaction and loyalty. Those results open a wide ground field of study where water is the central resource supporting new proposals. Water-based experiences can be considered the seed of a new value for water, which in turn can develop and commercialise healthy water-based tourism experiences that can foster economic and social benefits. Given that, the promotion of this new water culture through tourism could enhance the consciousness about the importance of implementing smart and sustainable water management strategies in order to assure the preservation of this essential resource.

The theoretical contributions of this work are threefold. Firstly, it is confirmed that tourism activities based on water and health are perceived as tourism experiences, according to the 4Es’ model [ 20 ], whose scale has been validated in the context of this research. Secondly, the results achieved offer empirical support to the structural model proposed which suggests that the experiences based on water and health have a positive impact on satisfaction, quality of life and loyalty. Finally, this research puts forward a brand-new approach for satisfaction and loyalty. These two variables are studied towards the tourism experience itself, rather than measuring the tourists’ satisfaction with regard to functional elements and loyalty towards the destination.

The results of this research have useful practical implications for those companies and destinations that have in water and health their main tourism attractions and that wish to turn their offers into more experiential proposals. The study suggests that, in order to foster experientiality in water-based activity, it would be recommendable to put forward tourism products that combine the visits to thermal spas and treatments with other offers, such as nature-based activities, wellness practices (e.g., yoga and mindfulness) and experiences focused on raising a new awareness for the benefits of water on human health.

The study’s findings show how tourism products linking water and health are a suitable response to the current desires and needs of modern tourists, increasingly interested in living authentic, educational and emotional experiences during their holiday time [ 1 , 7 ]. Moreover, this research confirms the important role that water-based experiences have on enhancing the tourists’ perceptions of quality of life, and how this drives tourists’ satisfaction and future loyal behaviours, with a special emphasis on behavioural intentions towards a specific kind of experience (water-based in this context). This suggests that, in the current experiential trend, managers and practitioners need to pursue loyal clients by focusing on the promotion of experiences more than the destination’s attributes in order to better their performances and increase their revenues.

In the context of natural settings, the quest for loyalty from tourists who are interested in healthy water-based tourism experiences has to be interpreted as a sustainable strategy to manage water in the long-term. If healthy water-based tourism experiences were promoted from a natural resources point of view, noticeable benefits for nature, individuals, companies and local residents could be obtained through quality of life and economic and social benefits, which can definitively endorse preserving natural environments and fostering a ‘water culture’.

Finally, the use of bodies of water for tourism purposes generates a net of interests for the protection of water’s quality not just for its environmental value, but also for being economically worthy as the engine of a new economic and social push. Water-based experiences have the power of revitalising rural economies, generating new employment opportunities, saving decaying societies and, most importantly, encouraging a respectful and long-lasting use of water.

The limitations and delimitations of this study have to be seen in the use of a non-probability sampling procedure, which could limit the results’ generalisability. The combination of a paper-based and an online technique for data collection may have introduced some bias, even though it did not compromise the validity of the results according to the outputs of a t-test performed. Despite these limitations, this research can possibly contribute to the identification of a new research line linking water and tourism that can add new knowledge to the experience and wellness tourism literature.

The study was applied in thermal spas and similar establishments. Future research could be focused on nature-based activities related to water, which may offer more consistent results from the application of the 4Es’ model [ 20 ]. This may allow a greater generalisation of this study’s results and provide significant contributions to other kinds of destinations and companies that use water as a main tourism attraction.

Acknowledgments

Project co-funded by FEDER and Junta de Extremadura (Spain) (Reference No. GR18109).

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.M.C.-C. and E.D.-C.; methodology, A.M.C.-C., J.M.H.-M.; resources, J.A.F.-F.; data curation, J.A.F.-F.; writing – original draft preparation A.M.C.-C.; writing – review & editing, E.D.-C.; supervision, J.M.H.-M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Water Use in the Tourism Accommodation Sector

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Lodging sector ; Water Consumption

Definitions

Water use is water that is withdrawn from its source for a specific purpose (agriculture, industry, etc.). Water demands by the tourism accommodation sector are usually classified in the wider category of domestic water use. Whereas the term water consumption is defined as the portion of water use that is not returned to the original source after being withdrawn, in studies addressing domestic water, “use,” and “consumption” are often used interchangeably.

Tourism accommodation sector is part of the hospitality industry, which specializes in offering lodging (e.g., hotels, youth hostels, campsites, motels) to travelers.

Introduction: Water, Tourism, and Sustainability

Based on a rough average of the data collected by international organizations such as the World Bank, FAO, or OECD, it is possible to state that around 70% of the fresh water that humans extract from the planet is allocated to agricultural uses, 20% supports...

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Why water transport is important

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

Water transport is an important component of tourism . Whether used to transport cargo or passengers, water transport is vital to the successful operations of tourism in many destinations.

In this article, I provide you with a brief overview of the water transport industry around the world and its importance to the global tourism industry.

What is water transport?

Water transport usage in passengers, water transport usage for cargo, water transport for military use, jobs in the water transport industry, the national maritime museum, greenwich, london, vancouver maritime museum, vancouver, british columbia, maritime museum of san diego, san diego, california, merseyside maritime museum, liverpool, water transport: to conclude.

Water transport is a huge part of tourism and travel. Otherwise known as maritime transport, fluvial transport or waterborne transport, it refers to the transportation of people or cargo via waterways. The term ‘ water transport’ can also be used to describe the intentional movement of water itself over long distances. This includes aqueducts, towing icebergs and also container shipments.

However, in terms of travel and tourism , water transport refers to the movement of passengers and goods via water. It is one of the oldest types of transport, and has been widely used throughout history. While the popularity and ease of aviation has ensured that water transport is now going out of fashion, so to speak, it is still used.

Water transport includes travel via the following:

across oceans and lakes, along rivers or through canals. Maritime transport is used for commerce, recreation and military purposes. Pretty much anything (in terms of cargo) can be moved via water but when time is of the essence – such as with food or other perishable items – it is unlikely that water transport would be the first option.

What is water transport used for?

Different types of transport have different purposes. But in a broad sense, transport is used for the movement of goods and people as discussed above. Getting travellers or cargo from A to B is important – whether it’s for somebody to go to work or for groceries to be moved from farm to storefront, transport is an essential part of society.

Passengers use water transport for recreation and commuting. Ferries can be used to travel between different areas with relative ease; for example, the Wirral peninsula in the UK is near Liverpool and there is a ferry that travels across the River Mersey. The ferry is used by many commuters from Wirral who work in Liverpool. At non-peak times, the ferry is used a tourist attraction for leisure purposes. Ferries also travel between countries and islands – the UK and France , for example, as well as Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. Travelling by ferry is often much more affordable than flying. It also means, in some cases, that you can take your car with you which is ideal for budget-friendly European camping holidays.

Cruise ships are another example of water transport. They are purely recreational; in the past, cruise ships provided a way of travelling from one country to another in order to relocate or take a holiday when you got there, cruises now are a holiday in themselves. Bigger than ferries, they tend to offer 1-2 week trips where passengers visit multiple locations as well as enjoying on-board entertainment. So while they do provide movement of people, they are more of an overall experience than typical ‘transport’. Small river cruises are another example of this type of water transport usage in passengers. They offer tourists in water-heavy cities like Bruges, Amsterdam, Paris and London to see the most iconic sites from a different angle.

There are some places, of course, where water transport is a necessity for getting around. Venice is a city built on a canal network that requires citizens to use water transport to get from their home to their workplace. Venice has water taxis as well as the vaporetto – a water bus.

Bulk carriers and container ships are two important types of water transport. They are used to transport cargo from (usually) one country to another. It is often much cheaper to transport heavy goods by water than it is by air or road. Cargo such as rice and grain, which is moved via bulk carriers, is obviously heavy when found in large quantities. Container ships carry the majority of the world’s dry cargo in truck-size containers for ease of unloading.

It takes roughly 10-12 days for a cargo ship to get from a European port to one in the US. This is dependant on currents and other factors, but it generally takes less than two weeks to move goods between these two continents. As intercontinental shipping becomes less desirable, new techniques are being implemented by shipping companies to try and retain customers. For example, ‘slow steaming’ means a reduced cruising speed, and therefore longer journey time but with less fuel consumption, meaning they can offer these shipping services for a lower price. It is a competitive market, and water transport is an important part of the economy and movement of goods.

The military operate at sea, too. Whether it’s the Royal Navy in the UK, the US Navy or one of many other global naval forces, water transport is used. There are many jobs on board, from engineers to stokers divers; the role of a naval force is to train and organise in order to win any conflicts or wars that do arise, and to maintain security and deterrence through sustained presence.

Different naval forces use different types of water transport. From ships to submarines, these vessels are used for training purposes and also to transport naval officers from one base to another, or to a battle location.

Water transport provides an incredible amount of jobs all around the world. From cruise ships to sail boats to bulk carriers, staff are needed at every step from construction to the actual movement of the vessel itself. There are lifelong careers to be made in the maritime industry. It is a vital part of our socioeconomics – there are goods that rely on water transport in order to be moved, and the cruise industry alone contributed $53 billion to the US economy in 2018. It is clear that water transport is a necessity!

Here are some examples of jobs within the maritime industry:

• Shipbuilding engineer
• Maritime lawyer
• Cruise ship designer 
• Marine environmental management jobs
• Ship banker
• Underwater photographer 
• Cargo engineer
• Maritime reporter
• Radio officers
• Ship chandler 
• Marine Biologist 
• Boat mechanic 
• Chef, barkeeper, cleaner etc on board a passenger ship
• Port manager
• Customers broker
• Maritime technician 
• Master/captain
• Communications officer

As you can see, there are so many varied positions when it comes to jobs related to water transport. To ensure boats, ferries, ships and cargo vessels operate smoothly during every journey, and from start to finish of their sailing lifetime, it is important that all of these roles are fulfilled. 

Celebrating water transport around the world

There are many maritime museums around the world which aim to educate the public on water transport and its purpose, as well as the different types of boats and vessels. If there is a maritime museum near you, they make for a great day out!

This is one of the biggest maritime museums in the world , full of memorabilia and amazing archives. It tells a great story of Britain’s seafaring history, and there are plenty of interactive areas for little ones to enjoy and learn from. You can step on board the Cutty Sark too, the world’s only surviving tea clipper, and enjoy an immersive walk-through experience.

This fascinating museum aims to preserve the history Canadian Arctic exploration. There is a wonderful collection of history and art relating to maritime pursuits, with model ships, replicas and more. The museum has a children’s discovery centre, too – it is a fantastic education when it comes to water transport in Canada.

If you live in San Diego or you’re planning a trip to the USA, this museum should be on your to-do list . There is something for everyone and it has one of the largest collections of historic ships. The museum has interactive exhibits including a light and sound exhibition on board a Russian Foxtrot submarine! There are plenty of events throughout the year, so keep an eye out for something fun.

This free museum provides an incredible insight into the city’s colourful maritime history. With plenty to learn about the Titanic, interactive exhibitions about customs and so much more, this museum is a vital part of the city’s network of learning facilities. A city so important in the history of sea trade and so much more, it is only right that there is a place where visitors and citizens alike can learn about how water transport was used here.

As you can see from this article, water transport is an important part of the tourism industry. Whether it is used as a means of transporting goods, it is a small passenger ferry or a large cruise ship, there is a lot of value in water transportation to the economy. Want to learn more? I send out regular interesting articles to help you to further understand the tourism industry. Sign up to my newsletter to join the mailing list .

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