- The Italian island of Sicily is in a state of emergency as the country faces its worst drought in two decades.
- Water rationing has led hotel and inn owners to refuse to admit tourists.
- The drought is threatening financial stability in the region’s tourism-driven economy.
Sicily’s extreme drought is the worst the Italian island has seen in two decades, and the situation is severe enough to threaten the region’s economy.
Britain’s Sky News reported that a drought in Sicily had made the local climate similar to that of Ethiopia, triggering a state of emergency, drying up lakes and forcing authorities to implement strict water restrictions.
Water restrictions have been so strict, with some residents being asked to cut their water use by as much as 45%, that hotel and inn owners are refusing to admit guests because they can’t guarantee showers and toilets will run, CNN reported.
“Of course, people ask us for guarantees before coming and we don’t know what to say,” Giovanni Lopez, owner of Le Cinque Novelle, a bed and breakfast in central Agrigento, told CNN. “This situation is rapidly affecting the entire tourist accommodation industry and we fear there will be serious economic consequences given that almost everyone in this part of Sicily depends on tourism.”
The economic impacts are hard to ignore: the drought has cost the region more than 1 billion euros (around $1.1 billion) in losses as reservoirs emptied and livestock died, CNN reported.
Representatives for Italy’s Ministry of Tourism did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment, but CNN reported that Italy’s Tourism Minister Daniela Sant’Ancie suggested in April that Sicily should try to expand tourism outside of the summer months to address the island’s worsening water crisis.
In addition to the drought, many parts of Italy, including Sicily, are also experiencing population destabilization, with authorities offering incentives to encourage people to move to rural areas in the hope that new residents will help stabilise population levels.
