Water consumption in Benidorm grows during the 'long weekend' by 1.36% compared to 2022 due to the high influx of tourists

The long weekend of the Constitution and Inmaculada Concepción has once again triggered tourist occupancy in Benidorm these days, as reflected by the data offered by the city's vacation sector and also other indicators, such as those related to water consumption drinking water or the collection of urban solid waste. The councillor of Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, announced this Monday that the city increased water consumption by 1.36% between Tuesday, the 5th, and Sunday, December 10, compared to the same period last year, with peaks that reached increases of up to 6%. Regarding garbage collection, this also grew by almost 1%.

Specifically, according to the data provided by the councillor, water consumption during the six days analyzed was 142,054 cubic meters compared to the 140,153 registered in 2022. Likewise, it should be noted that the total demand during these dates represents an increase of 14. 31% compared to 2019 data, before the outbreak of the pandemic, when during the long weekend the consumption of drinking water in the city reached 124,266 cubic meters.

Saturday, December 9, was the day in which demand increased the most compared to last year: 23,605 cubic meters over the 22,268 computed the previous year, which translates into 6% more. Regarding the rest of the days in 2023, on Tuesday, December 5, consumption was 23,689 cubic meters, 4% less than in 2022; On Wednesday, the 6th, it rose to 23,847, which represents a decrease of 0.27% compared to the previous year; On Thursday, December 7, 23,820 m3 were consumed, 3.83% more; On Friday, the 8th, consumption reached 23,733, 2.53% more; and finally, on Sunday, the 10th, the record reached 23,360 cubic meters and a consumption of 0.65% more than a year ago.

The same has happened with urban solid waste collection data. In this case, the figure has gone from 592,880 kilograms of garbage collected between December 6 and 10, 2022 to 606,200 kilos computed in the same period of 2023, with Saturday also being the day on which the greatest increase: from 109,660 to 122,660 kilograms, which represents 11.85% more.

The councillor José Ramón González de Zárate recalled that in recent times “many efforts have been made to improve the efficiency of the water network in our city, placing us as an example of savings and reuse” and added that “even so, the data reflects that there has been a significant increase in consumption, which denotes a greater arrival of visitors” to spend these holidays in our destination.

For his part, the mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has highlighted that these consumption figures “consolidate our city as a focus of tourist attraction at any time of the year” and has also highlighted that “they reflect the total recovery of the activity” in tourism, especially taking into account the 14.31% increase compared to 2019 figures. Likewise, the first mayor stated that “we still have room to continue growing because we are a destination that reached deseasonalization a long time ago. ”.

Toni Pérez has expressed confidence that “this increase in tourists during the 'long weekend' has also made it possible to increase turnover in hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes” and, finally, he hoped that it would be “a preview of a Christmas that will also be recorded in the number of visitors for our city and in turnover for our business fabric.