Managing Water for Tourism in the Phinda Private Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Tourism is heavily dependent on a consistent sustainable supply of good quality water for tourism. Water is used in the tourism industry for domestic purposes such as hygiene, food and drink preparation as well as recreational activities such as swimming, water sports and snow making (Gössling et al., 2012). Tourism in protected areas provides the opportunity for conservation initiatives to become financially viable this can however only be possible if a consistent supply of good quality water is readily available. Changing weather patterns and persistent drought conditions in many part of Southern Africa have necessitated the careful investigation of water as a critical resource for the sustainability of tourism. This study investigates the water sources and consumption rates of six tourism lodges located in the Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The per capita consumption of water was also determined in order to provide benchmarks and guidelines for future water consumption and management. The potential of alternative water sources such as rainwater harvesting was also investigated. The loss in potential income from the lodges is also calculated in order to determine what the indirect cost would be if lodges would need to be closed as a result of water scarcity. These calculations provide management with a decision making mechanism should the closure of certain lodges be inevitable.