tourism-italia.com

Italy has long been the world’s largest consumer of bottled water, but now Venice is fighting back! According to the NYT, venetian officials have now started a campaign to encourage more people to drink tap water instead of bottled water. They are fed up of the amount of plastic bottles floating around the city and the sheer cost of rubbish collection. Therefore they have come up the brand Acqua Veritas. I think that it is a fabulous idea! Not only because I am fairly eco-conscious but also because I think it will improve the reputation of the city. This is a fairly light-hearted story and so the more publicity it gains, the more people may want to visit Venice. So not only a good environmentally friendly idea, but perhaps also a good tourism marketing campaign.

It seems that environmentally friendly companies are springing up everywhere nowadays. The CB/Environmental agency of Bozen/Bolzano and the European Ecolabel today joined forces and held a seminar on how to qualify for EU Ecolabel status. The EU Ecolabel applies to all forms of holiday property, be it campsite or B&B, and signals that your accommodation respects the environment. The EU Ecolabel signifies that your accommodation is one of the most environmentally friendly in the area. I wonder how many people will take this into account when booking their holiday from now on?