Editor’s note: This article was first published on July 17, 2024.
The European head of the world’s biggest cruise line organization has warned that its members may have to avoid some of the world’s most famous destinations to protect passengers amid a backlash against excessive tourism.
Several European cities have vented their frustrations over the growing number of tourists and its impact on the prices of everything from food to accommodation and the local ecosystem. Tourism’s environmental footprint is a complaint usually leveled at huge carbon-emitting cruise ships.
In Barcelona, a popular departure point for cruise ships, the locals set off spraying tourists with water guns. Protesters in Spain’s Canary Islands began a hunger strike in April to protest overcrowding.
Last October, passengers from the cruise ship were greeted by protesters dressed as polar bears and sea lions when they disembarked in the French port of Brittany, in a nod to the industry against pollution.
Research by the Transport and Environment campaign group found Luxury European cruise ships it emitted as much toxic sulfur as 1 billion cars.
A rising tide
As the protests turn more hostile, the Cruise Line Association International (CLIA) suggests they may have to divert ships to protect passengers from the violence.
“We will consider adjusting the itinerary if for some reason we feel that not all passengers will be treated well,” Marie-Caroline Laurent, CLIA’s European Director, told Reuters.
Laurent did not specify which cities might be excluded from the itinerary, but it is easy to connect the dots after the wave of protests across the continent in recent months.
Mayor of Barcelona, The most popular in Europe port for cruise ships, said that the city cannot accommodate more passengers than the 3.5 million it accepted in 2023.
CLIA has defended its presence in Barcelona, saying only 4% of the city’s visitors are cruise passengers.
Venice, which prohibited cruisers from the center in 2021 introduced the so-calledresidence tax” deter or earn extra cash from day trips to the city this summer, months after moving to limit group size who could gather in the city.
Amsterdam, meanwhile, plans to almost halve the number of cruise ships that can call at its port each year until 2026 and ban them completely by 2035.
And in Greece, locals have begun using drones to police new sunbed rules in an attempt stop cluttering on village beaches.
Despite outcry over a growing lack of hospitality, the global cruise industry is expected to carry 10.7% more passengers in 2028 than in 2023, when 31.7 million tourists boarded ships.
