#WTMA18: Wesgro's water-offset tool for visitors to boost water-wise tourism

As part of Wesgro's campaign to encourage tourists to continue to visit the Cape and be water conscious when doing so, the tool allows visitors to the Cape to calculate their daily water usage, and then to offset this usage by donating money to water conservation projects. By doing this, visitors to our water-scarce destination will not only be incentivised to check their usage, by making use of this tool but will also be able to rest assured that they are part of the #WaterWiseTourism solution.

“Water wise tourism efforts like these put Cape Town & the Western Cape on the map as a leading responsible tourism destination, securing thousands of jobs in our hospitality industry” @alanwinde #WTMA18 #WaterWiseTourism pic.twitter.com/neeQQAGbG4

— Wesgro (@Wesgro) April 18, 2018

The Cape Town Model for dealing with climate change challenges

Reflecting on the importance of this initiative, Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris said, "Cape Town and the Western Cape - Africa's leading tourist region - is coming back stronger from its severe drought, and the joint response from government, business and the tourism industry is emerging as best practise for promoting water-wise tourism in the face of climate change. This new online tool is yet another way our destination is leading in this effort."

Indeed, climate change is a new reality that will affect more and more cities around the world in coming years. Harris continued: "'The Cape Town Model' for dealing with climate change shows how tourism can be an important part of the solution, and we look forward to sharing some of our initiatives with many other places around the world."

How it works:

Via a fun, interactive interface, visitors will select how many showers they’ll take, how many water-based beverages they’ll consume and how many times their room will be cleaned - as well as declare and quantify any other water consuming practices that will take place during their visit to the Cape.

Based on the information given, a calculator built into the tool will generate “flowcoins” - a currency created around water usage. Visitors can then use these “flowcoins” to offset their usage to water saving projects thereby supporting local water initiatives.

These water conservation initiatives include: the Greater Cape Town Water Fund - which removes alien invasive plant species to save billions of litres of water, and the Smart Water Meter Challenge - a special campaign aimed at saving water at schools across Cape Town through the installation of a water monitoring device, called the Dropula. The system monitors water usage and flow and provides information that can help inform opportunities to save water.