Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are the most arid islands of the Canarian archipelago, with an average annual precipitation of less than 180 mm due to its scarce relief. and its eastern location, in the vicinity of the Sahara desert. For this reason, its population has been historically scarce, especially in the case of Fuerteventura, due to its low agricultural productivity and frequent food crises. Although the system of cultivation on volcanic sands of the island of Lanzarote enabled higher yields of crops and a better defense against famines, so that its inhabitants resorted less to emigration in the cyclical periods of drought. This situation of water scarcity remained in the two eastern islands until the early seventies of the twentieth century, when the first seawater desalination plants were installed to facilitate the supply of the population. This technological innovation, with its successive improvements, has solved the historical problem of the urban supply of both islands and has made possible an unprecedented tourist development, taking advantage of its climatic and landscape resources and its excellent beaches. But the expansion of this new development model has led to the emergence of a new problem: that of the environmental and energy costs of seawater desalination, although the progressive use of renewable energy, coming from the sun and the wind, could put it on track said model on the path of sustainability.