world tourism day nakuru

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

Tourism for inclusive growth.

“Tourism and Rural Development” celebrates the sector’s unique ability to drive economic development and provide opportunities outside of big cities, including in those communities that would otherwise be left behind. World Tourism Day 2020 also highlights the important role tourism plays in preserving and promoting culture and heritage all around the world.

SAVE THE DATE | Monday 27 September 2021 | 10:00 AM (GMT)

Provisional Programme

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive social and economic impact. Both developed and developing economies have been hit. And marginalized groups and the most vulnerable have been hit hardest of all. The restart of tourism will help kickstart recovery and growth. It is essential that the benefits this will bring are enjoyed widely and fairly.

UNWTO has therefore designated World Tourism Day 2021 as a day to focus on Tourism for Inclusive Growth. This is an opportunity to look beyond tourism statistics and acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person. UNWTO invites its Member States, as well as non-members, sister UN agencies, businesses and individuals to celebrate tourism’s unique ability to ensure that nobody is left behind as the world begins to open up again and look to the future.

World Tourism Day, celebrated each year on 27 September, is the global observance day fostering awareness of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value and the contribution that the sector can make towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.

Official Messages

The human desire to travel and explore is universal, which is why tourism must be open for everyone to enjoy.

So too must the many social and economic benefits that tourism brings be available to everybody .

World Tourism Day 2021 highlights the power of ‘ Tourism for Inclusive Growth ’.

Find everything you need to celebrate World Tourism Day, including social media images, graphics and logos

Join World Tourism Day 2021!

? ? Submit the high-resolution photos and videos that best portray the power of tourism to generate growth for millions.

? ? Submit the high-resolution photos and videos that best portray the power of tourism to generate growth and the positive transformation it has driven for people.

World Tourism Day 2021 Events

Events by the global tourism community on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2021.

* The designations employed in this section of the website do not imply the expression of any opinions whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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Susan Kihika, EGH

Nakuru County Gears Up for World Tourism Day at Lake Elememntaita

• Culture and Tourism
• Elementaita

Nakuru County is gearing up to celebrate World Tourism Day in a spectacular manner at Lake Elementaita Wildlife Sanctuary. The selected theme for this year’s event, ‘Tourism and Green Investment,’ underscores the county’s commitment to environmental sustainability amid the challenges posed by climate change.

Rosemary Kimani, the Chief Officer for Tourism and Culture, expressed the strategic choice of Lake Elementaita out of the six lakes in Nakuru County. She highlighted that this selection aims to accentuate the intrinsic link between tourism and green investment, emphasizing the county’s dedication to aligning with global efforts in promoting eco-friendly practices.

The Chair of World Tourism Day, Nakuru edition, Mr. David Mwangi, emphasized the significance of this celebration. Beyond being a moment of festivity, it serves as a platform to position Nakuru as a premier tourism destination. The event is poised to attract visitors and effectively market the county’s rich natural and cultural heritage.

Governor Susan Kihika is set to lead the distinguished guests, including representatives from the National government and various stakeholders within the tourism industry, in commemorating this significant day. The event, scheduled for September 27, promises a diverse array of activities catering to different interests.

The festivities will include hiking, offering enthusiasts the opportunity to explore the scenic beauty surrounding Lake Elementaita. Bird watching enthusiasts will find themselves in paradise as they discover the rich avian diversity that graces the sanctuary. A fun run will add an element of excitement, while horse races, camel rides, and biking activities promise thrills for adventure seekers.

Cultural enthusiasts can look forward to captivating traditional dances that showcase Nakuru’s cultural vibrancy. Additionally, exhibitions will provide a platform for local artists and craftsmen to display their talents, contributing to the vibrant tapestry of Nakuru’s cultural identity.

As the county unites to celebrate World Tourism Day, it not only recognizes the economic potential of tourism but also underscores the imperative to do so responsibly. Nakuru County’s emphasis on ‘Tourism and Green Investment’ not only enhances its appeal to visitors but also positions it as a responsible steward of its natural and cultural resources.

In essence, this celebration becomes a testament to Nakuru County’s commitment to fostering sustainable tourism practices, ensuring that future generations can continue to marvel at the beauty of Lake Elementaita and the broader wonders the county has to offer. World Tourism Day 2023 promises to be an event of joy, reflection, and a renewed commitment to preserving the treasures that make Nakuru a gem in Kenya’s tourism landscape.

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World Tourism Day 2021

Tourism presents numerous interlinkages between many sectors through aviation, restaurants, cultural centres, sports facilities, ICT and many more.

Speaking during the World Tourism Day celebrations commemorated in Kwale County, today, the Principal Secretary for the State Department of Tourism, Hon. Safina Kwekwe Tsungu, expressed her delight towards the different celebrations across different counties in marking the day.

The 3-day packed event is going to feature beach cleanliness, beach volleyball tournaments, and a stakeholders engagement.

“Sports tourism is one of the major areas we are looking to tap into in promoting our Magical destination. To further enhance beach cleanliness, we will be launching a beach cleaning program effective January 2022, where the beach operators will be the key drivers,” added PS Kwekwe.

Tourism is a key pillar in the vision 2030 and contributes about 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the economy. The role of the Ministry is to develop policies that would guide the sector to maximize the existing potential towards improving economic livelihoods to the citizens.

The tourism sector, like other sectors of the economy has borne the brunt of Covid-19 pandemic with international tourists dropping from 1,513,241 in the financial year 2019/2020, to 483,257 in the year 2020-2021. The revenue has also dipped from Ksh. 127.9 billion in financial year 2019/20, to 78.34 billion in 2020/2021.

“There is potential in domestic tourism, that is why we urge the facilities to embrace technology and reinvent their products and services in order to attract more domestic tourists,” said PS Kwekwe.

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Nakuru set to host the World Tourism Day on 27th September

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Venice launches world first tourist entrance fee in bid to fight overcrowding

VENICE, Italy — Ancient and beautiful, this city is sometimes referred to as an open air museum — and now visitors to Venice will have to pay an entry fee after the tourist hub on Thursday became the first in the world to introduce a charging system for day-trippers.

In a bid to thin out the crowds that throng to see the canals, bridges and striking architecture during vacation season, day-trippers will have to pay 5 euros ($5.35) to enter the lagoon city on 29 peak days, mostly on weekends, as part of a trial phase until July 14. 

Tourists who have booked at least one night at a hotel in the city will be exempt from the charge, as will residents, workers and students in the city. Visitors under age 14 will also be exempt. But like the day-trippers, they will also have to ensure they have registered online and received QR codes.  

Those without smartphones will have to go to the city’s Santa Lucia train station to buy tickets. 

Among the thousands of people lining up at the station for a ticket Thursday was Donna Porter-Mutchler, a tourist from Tennessee, who told NBC News she thought the charge was “a wonderful idea.”  

“Venice deserves to be taken care of,” she said. “I think it’s more than worth it. I come here often, and I’ll pay every time.” 

While there will be no limits on the number of people who can register, officials hope the fee will put people off on days it applies. 

“We are not looking to collect money, tax people or introduce a police state,” Simone Venturini, Venice’s tourism councilor, told NBC News. “We are being democratic about it, but the important message is: ‘Please, if you are a day-tripper, choose another day.’”

While there are no turnstiles at the city’s entrance points to make sure people have passes, inspectors will make random checks and issue fines of 50 to 300 euros to anyone who has failed to register.

Prominent signs across the city and a TV and newspaper advertising campaign have been launched in Italy and some other countries to let people know about it. And with the help of artificial intelligence , Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has also recorded a video message in several languages to inform tourists about the charge.  

Officials in the city estimate an average of 50,000 people a day visit Venice, an influx that almost matches the resident population, some of whom are unhappy about the new charge.  

“Venice has turned into Disneyland, where tourists are catered more than residents, and charging $5 is not going to stop anyone,” Federica Toninello of the Social Assembly for Housing and the Solidarity Network for Housing in Venice said Thursday. “It’s just propaganda.”

Others, like tourist guide Luisella Romeo, said they were concerned about the use of personal data collected by the new system. “That’s an invasion of privacy. Those details will remain in the system for five years and could be given to third parties, public and private,” she said. 

But officials in the city, which narrowly escaped being placed on UNESCO’s “World Heritage in Danger” list last year, in part because the United Nations body decided that it was not addressing concerns that its delicate ecosystem risked being overwhelmed by mass tourism, have insisted that something needed to be done. 

Three years ago, large cruise ships were banned from sailing into the Venetian lagoon , and the city has also announced limits on the sizes of tourist groups.

While the charge in Venice is still in its experimental stage, other popular Italian tourism destinations, like Lake Como, which has struggled with overcrowding for years, are watching closely.

Only time will tell whether it ends up dead in the water.  

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

Watch CBS News

Venice becomes first city in the world to charge day trippers a tourist fee to enter

By Megan Cerullo

Edited By Aimee Picchi

Updated on: April 26, 2024 / 10:37 AM EDT / CBS News

On Thursday, Venice, Italy became the first city in the world to charge day tourists a fee  just to visit its historic canals and other attractions on peak days. 

The measure is designed to counter over-tourism and mitigate the deleterious impact large crowds can have on some of the city's fragile sites, while also persuading some tourists to visit during less busy times of the year.  

The roughly $5.37 fee only applies on 29 days that are deemed to be the busiest between April 25, a holiday in Italy, and July 14, in a trial phase of the reservation-and-fee system. 

Most people entering the city must register and obtain a QR code, or a ticket for visitors without smartphones, but some tourists are exempt from paying the fee. For instance, visitors who spend the night in a hotel or Airbnb-style accommodation are not subject to the nominal tourist fee. Likewise, residents, people born in Venice, people visiting relatives who are residents, workers, students and visitors under the age of 14 do not have to pay either.

There is no cap on the number of tourists who may reserve a visit on a given day. 

In a public video, Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, called the new system an "experiment" to protect the city. 

"We do it with great humility," he said. In a social media post , he added that the rollout was "going well" and "the atmosphere is relaxed."

Simone Venturini, the tourism councilor of Venice, added, "The whole world would like to visit Venice, and this is an honor for us. But not everyone in the world is able to do so on the exact same day."

Experts are skeptical the tourist charge will meaningfully reduce crowds or generate enough money to cover the costs associated with accommodating large numbers of visitors, like managing water and waste.  

"For cities like Venice, most research shows that an additional tax does not lower arrivals, as is often contended," Megan Epler Wood, managing director at the Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP) at Cornell University, said in a statement. "In order to address the invisible burden of tourism, new destination management entities will need to determine the cost per tourist to ensure there is an equitable and sustainable use of local resources. Once such costs are determined, tax reform will be required to cover these costs."

Some residents protested the new policy on Thursday, according to media reports. Some were seen clashing with riot police, while others tried to break through a blockade, CNBC reported .

The fragile lagoon city has a population of roughly 50,000, a sliver of what it was a couple of generations ago. On its busiest days, it can draw nearly as many tourists as it has residents.

A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage property, the city features masterpieces from Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and others. 

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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Venice tests a 5-euro entry fee for day-trippers as the Italian city grapples with overtourism

Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launches a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more liveable for its dwindling residents. (AP Video by Paolo Santalucia)

Stewards check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy’s Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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Tourists line up to enter at the at St.Mark bell tower in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A steward shows the QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy’s Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Stewards check a tourist QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy’s Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Citizens and activists confront police during a demonstration against Venice Tax Fee in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy’s Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists arrive outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists enjoy a ride on gondolas in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Marco Bettini, director of Venis Informatics System, gestures as he talks to reporters at the police Venice control room, in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers prepare the tourist tax cashier desks outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Venice councillor Simone Venturini speaks with reporters in front of a tourist tax totem in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday, April 25, 2024 to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Tourists enjoy a sunny day at St.Mark square in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A citizen shows a ticket with the writing ‘Veniceland’ during a protest against Venice Tax Fee in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy’s Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Citizens and activists stage a protest against Venice Tax Fee in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The fragile lagoon city of Venice begins a pilot program Thursday to charge daytrippers a 5 euro entry fee that authorities hope will discourage tourists from arriving on peak days. The daytripper tax is being tested on 29 days through July, mostly weekends and holidays starting with Italy’s Liberation Day holiday Thursday. Officials expect some 10,000 people will pay the fee to access the city on the first day, downloading a QR code to prove their payment, while another 70,000 will receive exceptions, for example, because they work in Venice or live in the Veneto region. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launched a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro ($5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its dwindling residents.

Visitors arriving at Venice’s main train station were greeted with large signs listing the 29 dates through July of the plan’s test phase that also designated separate entrances for tourists, and residents, students and workers.

“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’’ said Simone Venturini, the city’s top tourism official. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”

Not all residents, however, are persuaded of the efficacy of the new system in dissuading mass tourism , insisting that only a resurgence in the population will restore balance to a city where narrow alleyways and water buses are often clogged with tourists.

Hundreds of Venetians protested against the program, marching festively though the city’s main bus terminal behind banners reading “No to Tickets, Yes to Services and Housing.” Protesters scuffled briefly with police with riot gear who blocked them from entering the city, before changing course and entering over another bridge escorted by plainclothes police officers. The demonstration wrapped up peacefully in a piazza.

Tourists arriving at the main station encountered almost as many journalists as stewards on hand to politely guide anyone unaware of the new requirements through the process of downloading the QR code to pay the fee.

Arianna Cecilia, a tourist from Rome visiting Venice for the first time, said she thought it was “strange” to have to pay to enter a city in her native country, and be funneled through separate entrance ways for tourists. She and her boyfriend were staying in nearby Treviso, and so downloaded the QR code as required. But she was still caught off-guard while soaking in her first view ever of Venice’s canals by the sight of the entrance signs and her boyfriend telling her to get out the ticket.

On the other side of the entrance ways, workers in yellow vests carried out random checks at the train station. Transgressors face fines of 50 to 300 euros ($53 to $320), but officials said “common sense” was being applied for the launch.

The requirement applies only for people arriving between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside of those hours, access is free and unchecked.

Tourists take pictures at the St. Mark square in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Venice has long suffered under the pressure of overtourism, and officials hope that the pilot project can help provide more exact figures to better manage the phenomenon.

The city can track the number of hotel visitors, which last year numbered 4.6 million and is down 16% from pre-pandemic highs. But the number of day visitors, which make up the majority of the crowds in Venice, could only be estimated until recently.

A Smart Control Room set up during the pandemic has been tracking arrivals from cellphone data, roughly confirming pre-pandemic estimates of 25 million to 30 million arrivals a year, said Michele Zuin, the city’s top economic official. That includes both day-trippers and overnight guests.

But Zuin said the data is incomplete.

“It’s clear we will get more reliable data from the contribution” being paid by day-trippers, he said.

Venturini said the city is strained when the number of day-trippers reaches 30,000 to 40,000. On peak days, local police set up one-way traffic for pedestrians to keep the crowds moving.

Residents opposing the day-tripper tax insist that the solution to Venice’s woes are to boost the resident population and the services they need, limiting short-term rentals to make available more housing and attract families back from the mainland.

Last year, Venice passed a telling milestone when the number of tourist beds exceeded for the first time the number of official residents, which is now below 50,000 in the historic center with its picturesque canals.

“Putting a ticket to enter a city will not decrease not even by one single unit the number of visitors that are coming,’’ said Tommaso Cacciari, an activist who organized a protest Thursday against the measure.

“You pay a ticket to take the metro, to go to a museum, an amusement park. You don’t pay a ticket to enter a city. This is the last symbolic step of a project of an idea of this municipal administration to kick residents out of Venice,” he said.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro declared the launch day, coinciding with an Italian holiday, a success, registering 15,700 paying visitors, 50% more than anticipated.

More than 97,000 others had downloaded a QR code denoting an exemption, including to work in Venice or as a resident of the Veneto region. Hotels in Venice, including in mainland districts like Marghera or Mestre, provided a QR code for visitors to attest to their stay, which includes a hotel tax — accounting for 40,000 of those.

Venturini, the tourist official, said that interest in Venice’s pilot program has been keen from other places suffering from mass tourism, including other Italian art cities, and municipalities abroad such as Barcelona, Spain, and Amsterdam.

But Marina Rodino, who has lived in Venice for 30 years, doesn’t see the fee as the cure-all. Neighboring apartments in her residential building near the famed Rialto Bridge once inhabited by families are now short-term apartment rentals.

The corner butcher shop closed. Yet she noted that the new entrance fee requirement will still allow young people to flood the city in the evening for the traditional aperitivo, which can grow rowdy.

She was passing out mock European Union passports for “Venice, Open City,” underlining the irony of the new system, and challenging its legal standing with citations from the Italian Constitution guaranteeing its citizens the right to “move or reside freely in any part of the national territory.”

“This is not a natural oasis. This is not a museum. It is not Pompeii. It is a city, where we need to fight so the houses are inhabited by families, and stores reopen. That is what would counter this wild tourism,’’ Rodino said.