United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Venice Tells Tourists – Drink From Water Fountains
Venetian officials want thirsty tourists to stop swigging from their bottles of mineral water and use the city’s drinking fountains instead.
A new initiative to cut down on bottled water consumption, and save waste, called “100% Public” (www.100X100pubblica.it), was launched on World Environment Day, last Thursday
Near Piazzale Roma, where most tourists arrive in the city, visitors are now handed a kit consisting of an empty plastic bottle and a map showing the location of 122 fountains across Venice from which they can fill and refill with drinking water flowing from the city’s acqueducts.
The bottles will be labelled with a chemical analysis of the water that gushes from the fountains, which the local water authority describes as “super-safe”. The bottles will also carry the slogan: “Don’t throw me away; reuse me”.
Between 18 million and 19 million people visit Venice every year. The millions of plastic bottles the tourists leave behind add to the city’s already considerable waste disposal problems.
The movement started in February when the Venice patriarchate of the Catholic Church called on the faithful to give up mineral water for Lent. A statement put out by its diocesan lifestyle centre said the aim was to “revive a sense of responsibility for the safeguarding of creation”.
According to the Washington DC-based Earth Policy Institute, Italians are the world’s biggest consumers of bottled water, In 2006 they guzzled an astonishing average of 246 litres (54 gallons) a person,
Venice was chosen for the launch of the scheme due to its obvious links with water and its role as a tourist centre. However there are plans to take the project to Italy’s other major cities.
Venice city council is hoping the latest campaign will appeal to Venetians as well as tourists, especially at a time when the Italian economy is slowing. Officials point out that tap water costs just nine eurocents (7p) a litre.
Related News Stories:
Valere
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence
Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy
Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Boy falls to death on cruise ship
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Storm Lilian travel chaos as bank holiday flights cancelled