UK tourists stuck in ‘third world conditions’ after Spain shuts off water supplies

A move to conserve water by Spanish authorities left British tourists fuming earlier this week as they were forced to live in "third world" conditions. The upscale Sotogrande area in Costa del Sol reportedly shut off water supplies Wednesday (Apr 10) citing a severe drought crisis and shortage of water. However, the move left the British tourists in the area without the essentials to shower, cook, or clean.

Now, tourists are complaining they were not briefed about the situation earlier. Brit Rob Brummer, a 66-year-old tourist was quoted as saying by the Birmingham Mail: "It came as a huge shock when we were only told of this the day before.”

"The whole communication around this has failed completely. Sotogrande is all big villas and with five golf courses it uses a lot of water but I lived in the Middle East for eight years and we never had any problem with water supply. There is a big school here with thousands of kids who will need to wash and brush their teeth every morning. How can they do that?," he said.

Another tourist shared their experience on social media platform Facebook. They wrote: "My Airbnb host just sent a message that due to the lack of rainfall, our condo booked for July will not have water from 11 PM to 7 AM. Does that sound normal?"

Spanish Tourism has expressed concern over the situation. A spokesperson said: "We are sensitive to the drought situation that Andalusia is experiencing and we are analysing the implementation of some measure that affects the rations and efficient use of water. Any operation will necessarily have the consensus of the sector."

Watch:Spain: Ahead of world water day Catalonia struggles with drought

Video Embed Code:

The Ministry of Tourism has also issued a warning to tourists. Earlier, it was revealed that tourists consume almost double the amount of water than locals.

(With inputs from agencies)