cruise ship ban in venice

Venice, Italy, to ban cruise ships after years of protests from locals, environmentalists

ROME — Italy on Tuesday banned big cruise ships from sailing into Venice after years of rallying cries from residents, culture bodies and environmentalists.

In what he called a "historic" day, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the ban adopted by the Italian cabinet will take effect Aug. 1 and will cover the lagoon basin near St. Mark’s Square, Venice's most iconic landmark.

Ships will also be banned from St. Mark’s canal and the Giudecca Canal, a major marine artery that ships previously used to reach Venice's port.

The ban applies to ships weighing more than 25,000 tons, longer than 590 feet or with other characteristics that would make them too polluting or overwhelming for Venice’s marine environment. Cruise liners typically weigh four times the new limit and can reach more than 200,000 tons.

Franceschini said the government decided to act fast “to avoid the concrete risk” that the United Nations culture agency UNESCO , which protects the fragile city and its lagoon, would add Venice to its list of “ world heritage in danger .”

“It is a decision awaited by UNESCO, by all the people who have been to Venice at least once in their lives, by Italian and foreign travelers who were shocked to see these ships passing through the most fragile and beautiful places in the world,” Franceschini told reporters.

Venice is one of the world’s most famous tourism destinations, attracting an estimated 25 million visitors a year. Many of them come on cruise ships, straining the city’s already overcrowded tourism infrastructure and overwhelming its delicate marine environment.

Residents and environmentalists have battled for decades to stop cruise ships from coming into Venice to protect its ecosystems, fragile building foundations and cultural heritage, but change has been slow with the cruise ship industry being a major source of income for the city.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Environmental activist Jane Da Mosto, executive director of the nonprofit group We Are Here Venice, told NBC News in a WhatsApp message Wednesday that she was glad the “nightmare of cruise ships in the city” was ending.

The Italian government earlier this year pledged to get cruise ships out of the Venice lagoon but did not provide a clear timeline. Last month, it said it was organizing bids for a workable alternative outside the lagoon as the first 92,000-ton cruise ship since the pandemic began sailed through Venice — to both jubilation and protests.

But now, the government said it “wanted to give a strong acceleration” to implement the move given the looming UNESCO review, Franceschini said in a statement.

In announcing the ban, the Italian government said it planned to build five docks that would be able to accommodate cruise liners away from the Venice lagoon at the mainland port of Marghera, a 10-minute boat ride from Venice.

At the moment, however, Marghera lacks suitable docking for cruise ships.

Giovanna Benvenuti, spokesperson for the cruise terminal in Venice, told NBC News it may take years to build the new docks in Marghera as authorities would have to dredge a canal that leads to the port first.

With cruise liners gone for the foreseeable future, Benvenuti said thousands of port workers will risk their jobs.

Cruise ship business accounts for 3 percent of the city's gross domestic product and around 4,000 jobs depend on it, according to the Venice Port Authority.

The Italian government promised compensation to those affected by the ban, namely shipping companies, terminal managers and service providers, but did not specify the amounts or the timeline.

“We welcome the decision by the government as we have been waiting and calling for 10 years for an alternative route for cruise liners,” Francesco Galietti, Italian director of the international cruise industry trade association CLIA, said.

Marco Gorin, head of moorers at Venice port, said he and his colleagues are sad, disappointed and angry.

“They have been talking about an alternative route for cruise liners for the past 10 years, and we were never against it," Gorin told NBC News. "But we didn’t expect the government to ban cruises without finding a solution first.”

He is worried about how the ban will affect thousands of people like him, whose livelihoods depend on the cruise ship industry.

“It will take years to build the new dockings,” Gorin said. “What will we do in the meantime?”

Claudio Lavanga reported from Rome, Yuliya Talmazan from London.

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

Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

Watch CBS News

Big cruise ships banned from entering central Venice

By Chris Livesay

July 14, 2021 / 6:46 AM EDT / CBS News

Rome  — The Italian government has banned large cruise ships from passing through the center of Venice, declaring the surrounding lagoon a national monument after years of international outcry over the liners causing permanent harm to the fragile city. 

"It is not going too far to define this day as historic," said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, adding that the decree would go into effect on August 1.

"Ships will no longer pass in front of St. Mark's or the Giudecca Canal," he said, referring to the route they traditionally take through the center of the city.  

• Can Venice handle the COVID tourism rebound?

The law applies to ships weighing more than 25,000 tons, measuring more than 590 feet long, or more than 115 feet high.

Cruise ships, which returned in recent weeks after pandemic restrictions had kept them out for more than a year, are well known to destabilize Venice's delicate foundation.  

Dwarfing the surrounding buildings, they can shake the underwater wooden piles that have reinforced the lagoon city for centuries. Meanwhile, their immense wake splashes onto the sides of medieval banks and Gothic palazzos, causing ancient bricks, stone, and stucco to crumble. 

But Italy's government has waffled for years over reigning in the cruise ships, as they generate billions of euros in revenue for an economy that thrives on tourism, as well as employs thousands in the local cruise industry. 

The decree issued on Tuesday seeks to safeguard those workers, offering to pay them lay-off benefits as well as compensating the cruise industry for having to cancel trips. The government's decision came just days before UNESCO, the United Nations heritage body, was poised to examine putting Venice on its endangered list at its plenary session on July 16 to 31. 

In recent days, activists from the local "No Big Ships" group rallied on small boats and on the waterfront during the Group of 20 summit in Venice.

Many locals had been incensed by the lack of action since the Italian government announced in April that it was planning to ban cruise ships. With no other passenger port available for the ships to dock to let tourists disembark near Venice, the hulking ships were allowed to start cruising by Saint Mark's Square again this summer.  

The new decree puts a stop to that, but far from banning cruise ships outright, they are just being redirected to the nearby industrial port of Marghera. That port is part of the same lagoon and ecosystem as Venice, raising serious questions about the efficacy of the new legislation.   

"Moving large cruise ships to the industrial shipping canal is a huge problem in terms of erosion and pollution," Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist based in Venice, told CBS News. "The route is now even longer. That means burning more fuel. Moving the ships to Marghera we get the worst of both worlds."

The Marghera port channel will also require some serious modification to make it deep and wide enough to handle most cruise ships. For now, Da Mosto said the decree does, at least, eliminate the possibility of cruise ships crashing into Venice's historic center, like the 13-deck MSC Opera did in 2019 when it rammed into a dock as tourists below ran for their lives. Several people were injured. 

More than 20 million tourists visit Venice annually, many aboard the 400 cruise ships that pass through the city in an average year. That deluge was reduced to a trickle during the pandemic , with only 20 liners scheduled to arrive by the end of 2021. But tourists are already flooding back into the ancient city as COVID-19 restrictions have eased, and direct flights from the U.S. to Venice are back on.

Chris Livesay is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in Rome.

More from CBS News

Thousands of Canadians forced to evacuate as massive wildfire burns

Israel orders new evacuations in Rafah, forcing tens of thousands to move

Mother's Day traditions differ across the world — see how other families celebrate

Planet Fitness hikes membership fee for first time since 1998

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Italy Bans Cruise Liners From Venice Lagoon, With a Catch

Though environmental groups praised the decision to detour big ships outside the fragile area, they are concerned about plans to temporarily dock them at Marghera, the lagoon’s industrial hub.

By Elisabetta Povoledo

ROME — The coronavirus pandemic has kept most cruise ships docked. But the Italian government ruled this week that even when voyages resume, gigantic cruisers will no longer be permitted to pass Venice’s St. Mark’s Square and must find berthing outside its fragile lagoon.

Citing the need to protect the “artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Venice,” the Italian cabinet passed a decree late Wednesday calling for “urgent provisions” to detour cruise activities and freight traffic. The government mandated that Venice’s port authority issue a public consultation — described as a “call for ideas” — to find alternative ports to handle large container ships and cruise ships over 40,000 tons and planned to build a terminal outside the lagoon.

Dario Franceschini, Italy’s culture minister, praised the decision on Thursday, citing the shock of visitors to Venice upon seeing cruise ships “hundreds of meters long and as tall as apartment buildings,” passing in front of St. Mark’s Square. He said the government’s decision had been influenced by UNESCO, the cultural protection agency of the United Nations, which had long called on Italy to reconcile the balancing of lagoon preservation with the economics of cruise and freight activity.

The government’s decision was welcomed by environmental associations that have been warning about the havoc that large ships have been wreaking on the Venetian lagoon as they make their way down the Giudecca Canal to dock at the city’s main passenger canal.

“We won: ‘big ships out of the lagoon’ it’s a law,” the No Big Ships Committee proclaimed on its Facebook page . After years of protests, marches, initiatives and trials against committee members, the government had sided with the voices of the city: “Big ships are not compatible with the Venetian Lagoon,” the committee wrote.

Their concerns rang loudest whenever ship-induced accidents shone a spotlight on the big ship issue, including a June 2019 accident when a cruise liner crashed into a smaller tour ship and a wharf on the Giudecca Canal.

But even as environmentalists said they felt vindicated by the government’s decision, they expressed concerns about the government’s plans to temporarily detour cruise ships to the port of Marghera, the industrial hub on the lagoon, until the new mooring station outside the lagoon is built.

“This is the first time that a government has issued a formal decree banning ships from the lagoon, and this is without doubt enormously positive,” said Tommaso Cacciari, a spokesman for the No Big Ships Committee.

“But then the government messes up immediately after,” he said, because “it speaks of temporary solutions in Marghera.”

Mr. Cacciari said that such solutions could end up lasting years and that a terminal in Marghera would not be feasible because of logistical and environmental concerns.

The state of Venice’s fragile lagoon has increasingly come under scrutiny in recent years as violent storms and frequent floods have ravaged the city.

UNESCO said in an email that its World Heritage Committee had been in “constant dialogue with the Italian authorities to find a suitable solution.” The agency is considering adding Venice to its list of world heritage in danger, unless measures are taken for “significant and measurable progress in the state of conservation” .

The government had previously ruled that big ships had to find an alternative route to avoid fragile areas like the Venetian Lagoon. Other initiatives include a project for an offshore terminal and a permanent passenger terminal at the Lido entrance to the lagoon.

The Lido project was approved by several government committees but has languished at the infrastructure ministry. Cesare De Piccoli, a former lawmaker from Venice involved with the project, said he that had not been informed about the reasons for the limbo but that the latest decision to ban ships from the lagoon was “politically important.”

Given his own experience, Mr. De Piccoli expressed skepticism but said he planned to re-pitch the Lido project as part of the call for ideas.

“After all, it’s already been approved,” he said.

Critics said the decision to detour ships to Marghera, even if temporary, went against the spirit of the government decree.

Some were concerned that the canal used by freight ships, which was built in the 1960s, was both too narrow and shallow to handle current big ships. The recent Suez Canal episode “should provide ample warning,” said Senator Mauro Coltorti, the president of the Senate transport and public works commission.

Others feared that spending millions on a passenger terminal risked making it permanent.

Still others worried that the canal leading to Marghera would have to be enlarged to accommodate large ships, “which would be a kick in the stomach” to environmental initiatives, said Maria Rosa Vittadini, a retired professor at the University of Venice.

Cinzia Zincone, the commissioner for the port authority that oversees the port of Venice, said the canal required maintenance, as its banks were eroding and “important sediment” was sinking into the canal. “We can’t permit this to continue because it negatively impacts on the environment,” she said.

Some Venetians wondered how international cruise ship travelers would feel about docking in Marghera, which is unequivocally not scenic. “You’re going to have tourists that think they’re going to see St. Mark’s but find themselves in front of an oil refinery,” Mr. De Piccoli said.

Elisabetta Povoledo has been writing about Italy for nearly three decades, and has been working for The Times and its affiliates since 1992. More about Elisabetta Povoledo

Venice formally bans large cruise ships from its historic city center

Jul 13, 2021 • 2 min read

Venice will divert cruise ships from its city center © Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

In a bid to preserve the artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of Venice,  on Tuesday the Italian Government announced an upcoming ban on large cruise ships from the historic area.

According to the country's culture minister, Dario Franceschini, the decision was influenced by Unesco's call to reconcile the challenge of preserving the lagoon with the economics of cruise and freight activity. 

The ban will come into effect on August 1. This means that ships weighing more than 25,000 tonnes will no longer pass Saint Mark's Square for the Giudecca canal or share the space with gondolas and water taxis in the city center.

In a tweet, Franceschini said he is "proud of the commitment". 

A #Venezia dal 1 agosto le grandi navi non passeranno più davanti a San Marco per il canale della Giudecca. Approvato il decreto legge in consiglio dei ministri. Orgoglioso di un impegno mantenuto. @UNESCO @AAzoulay pic.twitter.com/1HXIwpbHbZ — Dario Franceschini (@dariofrance) July 13, 2021

Cruise ships have attracted negative attention in Venice over the last few years, particularly when a 13-deck MSC ship collided with a tourist boat docked on the Giudecca Canal in 2019, injuring several people. The event sparked protests city-wide, with many Venetians calling for a total ban on large cruise ships in the lagoon .

When tourism was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of boats meant that Venice's canals sparkled with unusually clear water . Huge schools of fish could be seen swimming around, and swans enjoyed having the clear water of the Serenissima to themselves.

The decision to ban cruise ships will please many residents of Venice, who have expressed concern around sustainable tourism and environmental issues in recent years. Previous initiatives to prevent cruise ship traffic entering the area have not come to fruition, but this ban   will formally address the issue.

In April, the government diverted large cruise ships away from Venice's historic center. Cruise ships were instructed to dock in the industrial port of Marghera, but  according to Reuters that port is not suitable for large passenger and freight liners. A new location is currently being sought. 

This article was first published on April 2 and updated on July 13, 2021.

You might also like:

The 6 best day trips from Venice 6 of the most beautiful road trips in Italy 12 essential places to visit in Italy

This article was first published Apr 2, 2021 and updated Jul 13, 2021.

Explore related stories

Oct 6, 2020 • 2 min read

The S.S. La Venezia has plans to set sail through the Venetian Lagoon and northern Italy in March 2021.

Aug 17, 2020 • 2 min read

Oct 1, 2019 • 7 min read

Apr 19, 2024 • 7 min read

Apr 19, 2024 • 10 min read

Apr 8, 2024 • 13 min read

Mar 20, 2024 • 9 min read

Mar 16, 2024 • 6 min read

Mar 14, 2024 • 16 min read

Mar 8, 2024 • 6 min read

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

• Hispanoamérica
• Work at ArchDaily
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Architecture News

Italian Government Officially Bans Cruise Ships in Venice

• Written by Dima Stouhi
• Published on July 22, 2021

The Italian government has announced the permanent ban of large cruise ships in the Venetian lagoon, after several years of protests, petitions, and threats of being put on UNESCO ’s endangered list. The ban will be effective as of August 1st, 2021, and will prohibit ships exceeding 180 meters in length or weighing 25,000 tons from entering the lagoon, hoping to sustain Venice's historic canals, waterways, and public squares.

The Venice cruise ships have already been a source of controversy for years, with an ongoing campaign led by the ' No Grandi Navi ' (No Big Ships) protest group and petitions by international architects and artists. Many regulations have been put in place over the years to reduce the number of ships arriving in Venice . However, as these ships provide significant contributions to the economy, there was never a substantial decision.

A few years ago, over 50 leading figures from architecture, art, film and fashion - Including Norman Foster , the director of London's National Gallery Nicholas Penny, and the director of the Guggenheim Foundation Richard Armstrong, have signed a petition pleading Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the Italian Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dario Franceschini to keep large cruise ships out of Venice . The petition was created by the UNESCO -backed Association of the International Private Committees for the Safeguarding of Venice , and explains that not only are the ships are an "aesthetic intrusion" to the city, but they also create a "probable risk of catastrophe" to the fragile Lagoon surrounding Venice.

The city has been battling rising water levels and floods for centuries. In November 2019, Venice has been inundated with the city's worst floods in half a century; Photographs and videos showed the city’s iconic St Mark’s Square underwater, with a 2-meter-high surge threatening irreparable damage to historic sites such as Saint Mark’s Basilica. There are several factors that make Venice particularly prone to flooding, such as rising sea levels around the coastal city due to climate change, and the sinking of the city itself by approximately one millimeter per year due to the soft, moving terrain on which it is built.

Venice is currently hosting it's 17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale Di Venezia from May 22 to November 21, 2021. Titled How Will We Live Together? The exhibition is curated by Hashim Sarkis and features 112 participants from 46 countries, with 60 national participants in the Giardini and the Arsenale.

Image gallery

• Sustainability

世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!

想浏览archdaily中国吗, you've started following your first account, did you know.

You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.

Europe Chevron

Italy Chevron

Venice Chevron

After Banning Cruise Ships, Venice Puts a Cap on Day Trippers

By Marianna Cerini

Venice has often been likened to an open-air museum—and starting next year, it might feel like one, too.

On August 21, the local administration of La Serenissima announced that, from the second half of 2022, it will limit the number of visitors to its narrow calli and iconic piazzas. To regulate access, the city will introduce electronic turnstiles at different entry points, a dedicated booking app, and an entrance fee of €3 to €10 (about $3.50 to $11.80) for anyone visiting for the day (costs will vary depending on the season). Residents, students, and commuters will be exempt from the added cost, as will travelers who book stays in local hotels (who already pay a city tax of up to €5 a night).

The measure is the latest effort to preserve Venice’s fragile ecosystem, and curb the overtourism it suffered from in pre-pandemic years. It follows the ban on large cruise ships that came into effect on August 1, and the recent decision by the Italian government to make the lagoon a national monument , so as to place it under enhanced state protection.

“We want to reposition Venice as a place people don’t just come to for a few hours, but experience for a few days, and with a deeper awareness of its urban, social, and cultural fabric,” says Simone Venturini, Venice’s Tourism Councilor. “By introducing a ticketing system we can limit crowds, shift away from the ‘day-tripper model’ that’s been so detrimental to the city, and hopefully win back the overnight guests that have stopped coming because of overtourism.”

Plans to tax visitors to Venice aren’t new , nor is the turnstile idea, which was briefly implemented in 2018. But following Italy’s reopening to tourism this past summer, Venturini says that this time they’re here to stay. “We’ve spent the past two years developing a long-term strategy to make tourism more sustainable both for those who visit and those who live in Venice. I’m confident that this integrated approach is going to ensure a better future for our city.”

Francesco Pugliese, owner of boutique hotel Avogaria , in the Dorsoduro district, agrees. “It was time to do something drastic,” he says. “And if that means turning Venice into a gated destination, I am ok with it. We need a filter or we’re going to collapse. That’s the reality of things.”

It’s a dire statement, but a quick look at the figures backs it up.

In early August some 85,000 people passed through Venice’s historical city center —whose population is 55,000—in a day. In 2019, there were peaks of 110,000. Before the pandemic, around 30 million tourists arrived annually, 73 percent of which were daily visitors (including cruise passengers) but only made 18 percent of its tourism economy. Meanwhile 70 percent of Venetians have left Venice in the past 70 years.

“It’s unsustainable,” Pugliese says. “Our streets, squares, and palazzos aren’t structurally built to cope with such high volumes of people—especially when so many come only to take a selfie in St. Mark’s Square .”

For Gioele Romanelli, owner of design-forward apartment-hotel Casa Flora , institutional regulations over the flow of visitors could also benefit the way visitors engage with Venice. “Venice isn’t just monuments and sights. It’s locals too—artisans, family-owned restaurants , artists, and local shops. When you’re here for a day, you don’t really have time to explore any of that. I think a slower, more discerning and responsible way of seeing the city can only be positive.”

But the ‘limited entry’ has also drawn criticisms from locals. Some residents, as well as Italian media and politicians, have described the move as the next step towards turning Venice into a “theme park.”

Monica Sambo, a Venice City Councilor and head of the local Democratic Party council group, believes turnstiles and daily fees won’t make a difference in improving the city’s tourism industry.

“Turnstiles don’t really limit arrivals—you’d have to place them everywhere around the city’s access points, which isn’t currently in the pipeline. If anything, it’ll just mean visitors will enter from areas that may have escaped the crowds until now, transforming those into new busy spots, likely with very long lines to get in. The extra fee doesn’t resolve the mass tourism issue either. Sure, some people might be deterred from coming in just for a day-trip, but is that enough to create a more sustainable ecosystem?”

Either way, change has to happen, and fast.

“We need to rethink how everyone approaches Venice,” Romanelli says. “The city is so much more than what it’s become today. Whatever method we use to highlight that is good for me.”

Recommended

Hotel Violino d’Oro: First In

The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice

Venice Travel Guide

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions ), our Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement and to receive marketing and account-related emails from Traveller. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

clock This article was published more than  2 years ago

Italy to ban cruise ships from docking in Venice, starting Aug. 1

Aiming to protect a “national monument,” Italy’s government Tuesday moved to ban massive cruise ships from sailing directly into Venice and limit access to its fragile lagoon, definitively altering mass-scale tourism to the City of Canals.

The government’s decision, which will take effect Aug. 1, will put a stop to the contentious image that has come to symbolize many of overtouristed Venice’s problems: fuel-guzzling ships, taller than the city’s bell towers, passing through the historical waterways and depositing thousands of passengers in the heart of the old city.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi called it a “step for the protection of the Venetian Lagoon.”

The move was made under pressure, just days before the United Nations’ cultural protection agency, UNESCO, was set to discuss listing Venice as an endangered World Heritage site. A UNESCO document from June specifically called on Italy to ban big cruise ships from the lagoon and move with the “utmost urgency.”

The cruise ships have long posed a conundrum in Venice, pitting economic needs — the cruise industry in Venice employs several thousand people — against a fragile ecosystem. Opponents of the cruise ships in Venice have protested for years, saying that the wakes caused by the ships contribute to erosion and that day-tripping, mass-scale tourism is incompatible with a relatively small, compact city.

The ban applies to ships of more than 25,000 tons. The massive cruise ships that have sailed into Venice’s harbor can be nearly four times that weight.

Italy had taken a less comprehensive step to stop cruise liners from sailing to Venice this spring, when the cabinet passed a decree calling for provisions to detour the vessels outside the lagoon. That decree, however, made little immediate difference, as it would require the construction of a new port farther away, which would take several years. In the meantime, ships continued to be able to dock at an industrial port known as Marghera, which is still inside the lagoon, and at a port on Venice’s main island.

Under this new measure, large ships will not be allowed to dock at Venice’s main island, nor will they be able to travel through the city’s Giudecca Canal. A limited number of ships — one per week, at the current capacity, a government spokesman said — will have access to Marghera, but with a route that keeps the vessels farther away from the historic center of Venice. The spokesman said Marghera’s capacity will gradually be expanded and should reach two ships by next spring.

The pandemic had temporarily paused cruises worldwide, but in June, the MSC Orchestra — a 16-deck cruise ship — sailed through the Giudecca Canal, rolling past the iconic sights of Venice, including St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace.

“Here it is, the first big ship to come back to destroy our lagoon and pollute our city,” the No Big Ships Committee said on its Facebook page.

When the vessel departed Venice through the same canal, some Venice residents took their own small boats onto the water and protested.

The Italian government said Tuesday that it would establish a compensation fund for the cruise companies and those connected to the cruise terminal.

Even as the city contends with the issue of cruise liners, it also faces other threats. Delicately built on a shallow lagoon, Venice has been subject to the rising seas, battered by flooding in recent years. A costly, years-in-the-works construction project — called the MOSE — is supposed to provide a new barrier against the high tides.

“The continued deteriorating effects of human intervention, combined with climate change on the vulnerable lagoon ecosystem, threaten to result in irreversible change,” UNESCO had said last month.

Advertisement

Ban Begins On Large Cruise Ships In Venice, Italy

Copy the code below to embed the wbur audio player on your site.

<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://player.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/08/09/venice-italy-cruise-ships"></iframe>

In Italy, a ban on large cruise ships in Venice's famous lagoon began this month.

Activists have fought for decades for the super-size vessels to be banned. They argue the ships pollute the waterways and overwhelm a city not built to handle cruises that size and the thousands of passengers they carry.

Giovanni Legorano , a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Venice, joins host Scott Tong.

This segment aired on August 9, 2021.

More from Here & Now

Venice's plan to charge tourists descended into chaos, showing how much of a headache overtourism has become

• Last week, Venice introduced a 5 euro, or $5.40, fee for day-trippers to mitigate overtourism.
• The fee is part of a trial that's running until July 14 and will apply on 29 "peak" days.
• The move sparked protests, highlighting the problems city officials face when tackling overtourism.

Venice is one of many cities grappling with the effects of overtourism as its number of visitors has bounced back from pandemic-era lows.

When cities become overrun with tourists, officials are often tasked with finding ways to make them more livable for residents.

Officials in the Italian city took action last week by implementing a trial fee of 5 euros — about $5.40 — for day-trippers on certain days. But the residents it aims to help aren't all happy about it.

While the hoards of tourists that descend on Venice's narrow streets can be a headache for people who live there year-round, many locals don't believe that charging people is the answer.

About 500 people protested the fee after it came into effect on Thursday. Some of them clashed with riot police; others held up signs and banners saying, "No to ticket, yes to houses and services for all," The Guardian reported.

Opponents claim that the fee, which kicks in on 29 "peak" days from April 25 to July 14, is against the principle of freedom of movement and is too low to deter tourists.

The fee's introduction immediately caused frustration — and not just among locals.

Related stories

The Guardian reported that some visitors were confused about how to prove they'd registered. Though overnight visitors were not required to pay the day fee, some didn't realize they still had to register their exemption.

The office of Simone Venturini, the city's tourism councilor, did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Venturini previously said the plan wasn't designed for the purpose of raising cash, and that the money raised would only cover operating costs.

Tourists visiting Venice on peak days need to buy a ticket online or at booths to enter the city. Those who fail to register risk being stopped by a ticket inspector and charged between 50 and 300 euros. On Thursday, the city's municipal council said that 113,000 people registered, of which 15,700 were paying guests.

Locals don't need to pay the fee to enter the ticketed area, but they do still need to book online, which has become a point of contention.

One opponent to the measure said on Thursday that Venice was "becoming a museum, a theme park," Reuters reported. Photos show some protesters holding up signs saying, "Welcome to Veniceland."

Other examples of overtourism crackdowns include Amsterdam's city council voting to ban cruise ships from docking in the city center. The move aims to reduce big crowds and limit environmental damage from the ships.

Amsterdam also launched a campaign to reduce the number of "messy" young, male British tourists traveling to the city to party and take illicit drugs.

In other cases, officials in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, opted to erect an 8-foot-tall mesh fence to discourage tourists from flocking to take photographs of Mount Fuji . The officials said it was a last resort after tourists crowded the area, left trash, and ignored traffic laws.

Elsewhere, a town in Austria that inspired the film " Frozen " also installed a fence to deter tourists from taking selfies. The temporary wooden fence was one of several tourist-curbing measures trialed in the 800-person town of Hallstatt, where the number of visitors can reach up to 10,000 a day , the BBC reported.

Other tourist hot spots have implemented caps on the number of daily visitors. In September, Greek officials introduced a 20,000-person daily cap on visitors to the Acropolis in Athens. Several US national parks also have daily caps.

Watch: Was Italy's $1 home scheme worth it?

• Main content

MORE SECTIONS

• Dear Deidre
• Visual Stories

MORE FROM THE SUN

• Newsletters
• Deliver my newspaper
• Sun Vouchers
• The Sun Digital Newspaper

• News Travel

Holiday warning as hotspot Mallorca plans to hit Brit cruise tourists with Venice-style BAN to lower visitor numbers

• Tom Malley , Foreign News Reporter
• Published : 20:46, 9 May 2024
• Updated : 14:30, 10 May 2024
• Published : Invalid Date,

BRITS have been issued a holiday warning as Mallorca prepares to hit cruise tourists with a Venice-style ban.

It comes as part of an initiative to limit visitor numbers on the Spanish island following concerns of tourism saturation.

Brits are now facing an awkward dilemma if they are planning on heading to the holiday hotspot in the Balearics this summer.

The Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport has reportedly approved an initiative to reintroduce a cap on cruise ships to Palma , the island's capital.

The proposal calls on the Balearic Government to reach an agreement with the cruise lines and shipping agents, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.

The approval of the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Palma City Council will also be required in order to renew the agreement on limiting arrival of cruise ships in the port of Palma.

Read more in Travel

Airline launches first-ever flights from UK's 'best' airport to beach hotspot

Gatwick Airport evacuated with 'inevitable' flight delays for passengers

The Balearic Government had previously reached an agreement with the shipping companies to regulate the arrival of cruise ships in Palma in May 2022.

It saw ship arrivals staggered to a maximum of three per day, of which only one of them could have a capacity of more than 5,000 passengers.

It came two years after Mallorca's government called for a ban on all cruise ships in a measure aimed at "protecting our main sector and achieving a more sustainable tourism".

Now, however, the reintroduction of a cap on cruise ships to Mallorca is looking likely.

Most read in News Travel

Inside £1.1bn hotel with £160k Royal suites, 90 swimming pools & gold facials

Best campsite in the UK revealed with riverside pitch and nearby country pubs

How to do Orlando holiday with older kids - with bigger rides and retro bars

Flight attendant reveals the common complaint they are sick of hearing on planes

Earlier this year in Madrid , a group of politicians expressed their interest in the possibility of promoting a stricter regulatory framework regarding the activity of cruise ships.

Despite the alleged restrictions implemented in May 2022, there has been increase in the number of cruise ships arriving in the Balearics over the past few years, the Majorca Daily Bulletin add.

Politicians are now keen to implement a new set of rules on cruise ships in terms of taxation, the environment or the use of less polluting fuels to lower those numbers once more.

That's despite previous uproar over the decision within the past six months.

In October, eight business organisations called on the Balearic government to scrap the curb on cruise ships after an 18 percent fall in passengers, a separate report from the Majorca Daily Bulletin revealed.

"Don't demonise cruise ship passengers, it is family tourism with a high spending power," they said in a statement.

Palma is one of the top cruise ship ports in the Mediterranean , attracting in excess of 2.5 million passengers per year, including some of the biggest cruise ships in the world.

If a fresh ban were to be implemented, however, it would follow that of the one placed on Venice in 2021.

Italian authorities approved a ban on cruise ships entering the historic city in response to a request from UN cultural body Unesco three years ago.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

'UK's wonkiest road' to finally be fixed after being shut for 2 YEARS

Doctors had to hack off my legs, hands and fingers days after I gave birth

Critics argued that the ships caused pollution and eroded the foundations of the city, which already suffers from regular flooding.

Large ships were forced to dock at the city's industrial port, as a result, at least until a permanent solution was found.

Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots

IT isn't just Mallorca where anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe.

Many top holiday destinations across the continent are taking action to prevent unwanted travellers from taking over their towns and cities.

Locals feel they can no longer live in the iconic destinations because they have become overcrowded, unsafe and uncomfortable.

In April, t housands of people took to the streets in Tenerife to demand restrictions on holidaymakers after telling Brits to "go home".

The anti-tourist hordes filled a square in the capital brandishing banners including some that read “You enjoy we suffer” in English.

Protests also took place at the same time on other popular Canary islands including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.

The marches were organised under the slogan "The Canary Islands have a limit.”

Anti-tourist graffiti has now been  popping up in Majorca , saying "Tourist Go Home".

Hotel bosses in Benidorm have even admitted they are “very worried” by the  anger growing amongst island  residents but branded holiday homes in  Spain  a "virus".

• Holiday tips tricks and hacks
• Holiday warnings
• Travel advice

Holiday to Majorca: UK holidaymakers issued warning as as popular Spanish destination plans to bring in Venice-style cruise ban to limit tourist numbers

A Majorca holiday warning has been issued as the popular Spanish destination is planning to bring in a Venice-style cruise ban

A holiday warning has been issued to UK tourists as popular Spanish destination Majorca is planning to bring in a Venice-style cruise ban to limit visitor numbers. The Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport has reportedly approved an initiative to reintroduce a cap on cruise ships to Palma, the island's capital.

The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that the proposal calls on the Balearic Government to reach an agreement with the cruise lines and shipping agents. The Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) and Palma City Council will also be required to approve in order to renew the agreement on limiting arrival of cruise ships in the port of Palma.

Earlier this year in Madrid, a group of politicians expressed their interest in the possibility of promoting a stricter regulatory framework on the activity of cruise ships. It comes after there has been an increase in the number of cruise ships arriving in the Balearics over the past few years, the Majorca Daily Bulletin added. Palma is one of the top cruise ship ports in the Mediterranean, attracting in excess of 2.5 million passengers per year, including some of the biggest cruise ships in the world.

Politicians are now keen to implement a new set of rules on cruise ships in terms of taxation, the environment or the use of less polluting fuels to lower those numbers once more. If a fresh ban were to be implemented it would follow the one that was implemented in Venice in 2021. Italian authorities approved a ban on cruise ships entering the historic city in response to a request from UN cultural body Unesco three years ago.

Critics argued that the ships caused pollution and eroded the foundations of the city, which already suffers from regular flooding. As a result, large ships were forced to dock at the city's industrial port.

TikTok sues federal government over potential US ban

TikTok and ByteDance claim the law violates users' First Amendment rights.

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the federal government Tuesday over what it called an "unconstitutional" potential ban of the social media platform in the United States.

In the lawsuit, TikTok and ByteDance claim the law signed by President Joe Biden last month -- which would force the company to sell the platform to a non-Chinese company in nine to 12 months or face a ban in the U.S. -- violates users' First Amendment rights.

"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide," the company said in its 65-page petition filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was part of a massive, $95 billion foreign aid package passed by Congress, on April 24.

The White House did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

MORE: Congress seems poised to pass potential TikTok ban in US. How would it work?

The president and some congressional leaders have argued that the ultimatum against TikTok was necessary because of security concerns about ByteDance and its connections to the Chinese government.

ByteDance refuted those allegations in its lawsuit, arguing there has been no tangible evidence that the app poses any security risk.

"Congress itself has offered nothing to suggest that the TikTok platform poses the types of risks to data security or the spread of foreign propaganda that could conceivably justify the act," it said in the lawsuit.

In previous statements, as the bill made its way through Congress, TikTok slammed the renewed efforts behind divestment, saying at the time: "It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually."

The lawsuit also alleges that the window to sell the company is not possible "commercially, technologically or legally."

ByteDance is seeking for the court to make a judgment that the act violates the Constitution and enjoin Attorney General Merrick Garland from enforcing it, according to court documents.

Some social media influencers, business owners and other TikTok supporters criticized a ban on the app in the U.S. , claiming they would lose a major platform for their businesses.

MORE: TikTok influencers say ban would be 'devastating'

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released Tuesday , however, showed that the majority of Americans are in favor of the ban.

About 53% of Americans support a ban on TikTok if it's not sold to a non-Chinese company, while 44% are opposed to the ban, according to the poll.

MORE: More people support than oppose a TikTok ban; frequent users, young adults push back: POLL

Roughly 51% of Americans say the U.S. government should try to force a sale of TikTok while 46% say it should not, the poll found.

ByteDance filed a lawsuit against Montana in May 2023 when it issued a similar ban, arguing it violated First Amendment rights. In November, a federal judge ruled in favor of TikTok and blocked the law before it took effect.

Related Topics

• Biden Administration

Top Stories

Woman uses self-checkout to steal $60,000 of items from same Target store over a year

• May 10, 5:03 AM

At least 11 dead, mostly students, in Indonesia bus crash after brakes apparently failed, police say

• May 12, 12:50 AM

Controversy follows Gov. Kristi Noem as she is banned by two more South Dakota tribes

• May 11, 6:02 PM

Israel pushes deeper into Rafah and battles a regrouping Hamas in northern Gaza

• May 12, 3:50 AM

Report: Trump may face a $100 million-plus tax bill if he loses IRS audit fight over Chicago tower

• May 11, 2:49 PM

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events