Marketing Review — Summer 2008 - (Page 46) TREND #41 Water shortages will be a growing problem for much of the world. 41 46 changes. So will long-term savings on energy, waste disposal, and expendables. Eco-friendly travel will continue to be one of the fastest growing segments of the industry for the next 15 years. After that, it will simply be the way things are done. 41) Water shortages will be a growing problem for much of the world. In many regions, they are severe already. The northern half of China, home to perhaps half a billion people, already is short of water. The water table under Beijing has fallen nearly 200 feet since 1965. Australia’s Murray-Darling river system, which supplies water for 40 percent of the country’s crops and 80 percent of its irrigation, no longer carries enough water to reach the sea without constant dredging. Salinity in the Murray is rising so quickly that the water is expected to be undrinkable in 20 years. There is worse to come. According to U.N. studies, at least 3.5 billion people will run short of water by 2040, almost ten times as many as in 1995. Ten years later, fully twothirds of the world’s population could be living in regions with chronic, widespread shortages of water. ASSESSMENT: This trend will remain with us for the very long term. IMPLICATIONS: Providing adequate supplies of potable water will be a growing challenge for developing and developed countries alike. Such problems as periodic famine and desertification can be expected to grow more frequent and severe in coming decades. In many lands, including parts of the United States, growing water shortages may inhibit economic growth and force large55 TRENDS FOR TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY • SUMMER 2008 200504789-001/MIKE GOLDWATER/GETTY IMAGES
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