**1. Introduction**

Tourism is recognised as a global industry and considered a substantial contributor to the development of countries. Tourism development potentially provides many benefits, but these can be realised only if tourism is managed in order to maximise positive impacts,

while negative impacts are kept to a minimum. These latter may include degradation of the environment, pollution, waste of resources, disturbance to wildlife and landscapes, cultural commodification and trivialisation, displacement of host communities and introduction of undesirable activities [1]. For this reason, there is a general consensus that associating the principles of sustainable development with the practice of tourism might represent a solution to the problems faced by the industry. As a result, sustainable tourism has been proposed as a development strategy that aims to increase economic opportunities and enhance quality of life while preserving the destinations' natural and cultural resources [2].

In the early 1990s, cruise tourism was mostly an elite privilege, but since then the phenomenon has constantly increased in popularity. Parallel to cruise tourism success, also its environmental, social and economic impact has been growing in scale. At the end of the twentieth century, cruise travel was popular mostly with wealthy senior holiday-makers, for whom a cruise holiday was the symbol of classiness and a luxurious lifestyle. With the beginning of this century, cruise market has seen enormous growth in both passenger numbers and destinations, with aggressive competition among cruise lines, which have developed distinctive brand positions to differentiate themselves from competitors. However, the downside of this growth is the negative impact both on environment and society created by cruise tourism. Hence, when big ships arrive to small destinations, phenomena of congestion arise causing impacts not only on environment but also on traditions and social behaviour of local residents. This would mean that many 'paradisiacal' places, such as islands, costs and ancient cities usually having a very delicate ecosystem, are at risk to be lost [3].

Today, the most popular cruise destinations are, listed in order of traffic volume, the Caribbean and the Bahamas, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Islands and Northern Europe. As some data from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) shows, the cruise industry has experienced impressive levels of growth. In the last 10 years, demand for cruising has increased by about 70%. In 2014, cruise passengers recorded to have cruised worldwide were more than 22 million, generating an economic impact of \$119.9 billion, while further increase is expected in 2017. Cruise ship capacity grew by 18% from 2009 to 2013. Due to this rapid increase in growth, sustainability represents a major issue also for the cruise industry, which has moved towards the wholesale adoption of sustainable principles in its development, operations and branding [4].

Cruise ships today offer a world of innovative facilities and services that aim to satisfy the expectations of a growing population of travellers. However, although it is clear that the cruise industry has responded to the desires of passengers by developing new destinations, ship designs and on-board amenities, in terms of sustainability the attention of the cruise lines seems confined to relatively minor policies and practices of waste management, water treatment policy and reduction of air emissions. Besides international and national laws on commerce and environmental protection, there are no standards for regulating cruise tourism. Due to the lack of comprehensive management and assessment strategies, there is no consensus about the economic, social, cultural and environmental effects of cruise industry. Therefore, much remains to be done to balance the rapidly growing demand for cruising against its negative environmental impacts.

This chapter explores the above-mentioned issues by looking at the strategies and policies used to market cruise tourism in the Mediterranean with a special focus on the case of Venice. The chapter offers also some reflections relevant from the perspective of cruise tourism management, highlighting the need for responsible tourist service providers to balance rent-seeking activities with the need to preserve natural and cultural resources. Venice special legislation on tourist cruises and more general law and legal aspects are examined to highlight critical factors and remedies. The intention is to identify the role of environmental values and sustainability in the cruise industry.
