The blur of public transportation is an atmospheric, if possibly overplayed, representation of travel itself. This particular blur, of a BART train and station, owes much to the yellow floor safety line, which grounds the image.
This blur was snapped by Flickr user kiddie1997. For me, it prompts memories of living in San Francisco, an association I was feeling particularly keenly today to begin with thanks to the slow, insistent rain outside, so reminiscent of a San Francisco winter.
World Tourism Day is coming up on September 27 and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) hopes to raise awareness about the role of tourism within the international community. Showing how tourism affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide, this year’s theme puts a spotlight on the role of tourism in a brighter energy future.
If the United Nations has its way that will be a future in which the world’s entire population has access to modern, efficient and affordable energy services. To raise awareness, the UN hosted a photo contest looking for pictures that captured new ideas to increase energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy and photos showing how tourism is bringing modern and clean energy to local communities.
%Gallery-166318%With a record 467 million tourists traveling in the first half of 2012, international tourism is on track to reach one billion tourists by the end of the year. That means there are one billion reasons to focus on a tourism industry committed to using energy responsibly. On cruise vacations alone, a record 20 million people took a cruise last year, an increase of almost 2 million, according to the latest industry figures.
As much of an impact as the global tourism industry has on the environment, those visiting destinations around the world can have a huge impact by focusing on being eco-friendly travelers, as we see in this video:
The world’s mostrecommended country to visit is Canada, says a study measuring public perceptions of countries around the world. The ranking is a component of the best overall country reputation that also considers employment, living conditions, investment potential and more.
Beating out Australia, Sweden and Switzerland for the second year in a row for the number one spot, Canada is one of 50 nations that will directly contribute to the $2 trillion tourism industry in 2012.
The annual RepTrak study was conducted by the Reputation Institute, a consultancy that measures the trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings the public holds towards 50 countries, by polling an online panel of 36,000 people representing the G8 countries.
“Beyond maintaining its top position, Canada has also improved its score by more than three points. Normally we don’t see such a large increase in a score from a top 10 country but Canada now stands head and shoulders above the other leading countries,” said Nicolas Georges Trad, Executive Partner, Reputation Institute in a statement.
Rounding out the top ten countries with the best reputations were Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, all known for their stability, solid democracies, high GDP and strong social infrastructures.
The United States came in at number 23 but the study concluded that with a strong 5-10 point increase in the last four years, the reputation of the USA is trending towards more positive perceptions.
The Golden Gate Bridge, which links San Francisco and Marin County, is one of the most iconic man-made sights in the United States. It’s bold and dramatic, the source of rich symbolism and the background to countless tourist snaps. In this image, taken by Flickr user jrodmanjr, the bridge is dwarfed by a cliff and the humans atop it.
Do you have an image of a major tourist site? Upload it to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. We choose our favorites from the pool as Photos of the Day.
Grand Teton National Park, captured here by Flickr user oilfighter, is breathlessly beautiful. A major destination in American mountaineering – and a deeply beautiful destination for less adventurous travelers – Grand Teton is surely on the short list of top U.S. National Parks.
Photographer oilfighter has developed a happy habit of snapping nature at particularly majestic moments. Check out his archive on Flickr to see evidence of his special talent.
Upload your best photographs to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr, and be sure to enable downloading. We pick our favorite images from the pool to be future Photos of the Day.