**4. Destination Venice**

considering the most important locally located 20 ports and 1,605,660 passengers in 2016 [22]. Following Venice, there are Dubrovnik with 833,588 passenger movements (16.5% on the total) and Corfu with 748,916 passenger movements (14.8% on the total). The last destination

**Graph 1.** Adriatic cruise passenger movements and cruise calls share of the Mediterranean. Source: MedCruise, 2017.

It is interesting to underline how in the top 20 Adriatic Sea port lists, five are Italian. They are in order of importance as follows: Venice, Bari, Trieste, Ancona and Ravenna. Indeed, Italy has the highest value in passenger movements, with 2.3 million cruisers. This value is equivalent to nearly half of passenger movements in the Adriatic and precisely to the 44.6% of it. It has to be stated that how in the last years many ports have been opened or enlarged in Italy and more are planned to be operative in the near future. This process interested mainly the region of Veneto, with 1200 new berths between the recently opened and the ones planned to be opened in 1 or 2 years in time.

The above-mentioned data show, on the one hand, how this area could be crucial to the development not only of the maritime tourism business sector but also for the whole tourism business and for satellite activities and communities in the area and Italy. On the other hand, the specificity of the area and passengers' data call for sustainable development policies. In this

of the list is Igoumenitsa with 7623 passenger movements (0.2% on the total).

**2016 2015 % Var. 2016 on** 

98 Mobilities, Tourism and Travel Behavior - Contexts and Boundaries

**Table 2.** Cruise calls in the 4 macro areas of the Mediterranean in MedCruise ports.

**2015**

WEST MED 8617 8284 4.0 8327 8881 8641 −0.3 **Adriatic 2961 2578 14.9 2917 3221 3259 −9.1** EAST MED 1861 2590 −28.1 2140 2430 2525 −26.3 BLACK SEA 28 81 −65.4 332 332 237 −88.2 Total 13,467 13,533 −0.5 13,716 14,864 14,662 −8.2

**2014 2013 2012 % Var. 2016 on** 

**2012**

**Mediterranean areas**

Source: MedCruise, 2017.

Venice is one of the most visited cities worldwide. Because of its uniqueness, Venice and its lagoon are both part of the UNESCO World Heritage List and form a very delicate ecosystem. The beautiful historical buildings are built on an ancient stilt system, already facing the everyday effect of saltiness, water, mud and frequent high-water events. Venice and its lagoon can be considered as a single entity, the centre of a productive, commercial and residential system. Preserving the lagoon environment and the cultural heritage of the city is a pivotal issue.

For Venice, its inhabitants and stakeholders, the question of sustainability is complex. Indeed, nowadays, its economy relies almost entirely on tourism, but tourism has to be balanced with the needs of the residents and the carrying capacity of the destination. Then, as Davis and Marvin [25] highlighted in their research, there is a clear contradiction between what appears good for Venice in the short term—revenue from tourism—and what risks are killing the city in the nearer long term—mass tourism.

Just to consider tourist arrivals recorded in 2015, data show an increase of 5%, totalling 4,495,857, over the previous year [26]. These numbers alone make sustainable tourism in Venice, as an urgent and pressing question for a city that is already in a delicate situation, built on more than 100 small islands on the lagoon and with a total area of 797,9631 hectares excluding lagoon waters (data of the Municipality of Venice). This situation becomes more critical considering the role of Venice as home port for cruising and the increasing number of cruise passenger movements. Therefore, it is clear that the number of visitors is having a dramatically negative impact on the city, which highlights the need of initiatives to promote sustainable tourism and to help visitors reduce their impact on this fragile city.

The process regarding cruises has involved the Harbour Master's Office, the Port Authority and the Venice Waters Superintendent's Office and afterwards the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Culture and Environment, the Minister of Education, the Governor's Office and Venice Municipalities and the surrounding communities.

The port of Venice is divided in more than one area, each one of them devoted to a specific activity and located in a different part of the lagoon. The different operative areas are (a) Porto Marghera, in the proximity of Venice, where once was the industrial district, dedicated to the commercial terminals and ferry, and (b) Marittima, located in the historical centre of Venice, dedicated to the cruise and passenger terminals.

Thanks to the cruise facilities and its strategic location, the port of Venice is considered one of the best home ports of the world. As **Graph 2** shows, the volume of cruise passengers and cruise calls has continuously increased during the last 15 years. According to the

**Graph 2.** Cruise passenger movements and cruise calls in Venice. Source: Venezia Terminal Passeggeri (VTP).

VTP data, from 2000 to 2016, cruise passenger traffic has risen from 337,475 to 1,605,660 passengers, with an average annual growth rate of 10.24% and an increase from 200 to 529 cruise calls.

good for Venice in the short term—revenue from tourism—and what risks are killing the city

Just to consider tourist arrivals recorded in 2015, data show an increase of 5%, totalling 4,495,857, over the previous year [26]. These numbers alone make sustainable tourism in Venice, as an urgent and pressing question for a city that is already in a delicate situation, built on more than 100 small islands on the lagoon and with a total area of 797,9631 hectares excluding lagoon waters (data of the Municipality of Venice). This situation becomes more critical considering the role of Venice as home port for cruising and the increasing number of cruise passenger movements. Therefore, it is clear that the number of visitors is having a dramatically negative impact on the city, which highlights the need of initiatives to promote

The process regarding cruises has involved the Harbour Master's Office, the Port Authority and the Venice Waters Superintendent's Office and afterwards the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Culture and Environment, the Minister of Education, the Governor's Office and Venice Municipalities and the surrounding communities. The port of Venice is divided in more than one area, each one of them devoted to a specific activity and located in a different part of the lagoon. The different operative areas are (a) Porto Marghera, in the proximity of Venice, where once was the industrial district, dedicated to the commercial terminals and ferry, and (b) Marittima, located in the historical centre of Venice,

Thanks to the cruise facilities and its strategic location, the port of Venice is considered one of the best home ports of the world. As **Graph 2** shows, the volume of cruise passengers and cruise calls has continuously increased during the last 15 years. According to the

**Graph 2.** Cruise passenger movements and cruise calls in Venice. Source: Venezia Terminal Passeggeri (VTP).

sustainable tourism and to help visitors reduce their impact on this fragile city.

in the nearer long term—mass tourism.

100 Mobilities, Tourism and Travel Behavior - Contexts and Boundaries

dedicated to the cruise and passenger terminals.

Special legislation on maritime traffic in the city has been emanated in the last 40 years for different reasons. Law has seen the safeguarding of the port of Venice and its related activities as an important objective, because of its social and economic role [27]. Just to mention a few of those measures, the first special law for Venice is the 171/1973; it focused on the replacement of oil transportations by vessels with a more generic and less heavy commercial traffic. By the way, in 1984, the second special law for Venice was issued. This time the measure goal was to help the economic growth of the port activities. More recently, in 2007, the first Venice Blue Flag voluntary agreement was signed by local authorities and cruise companies. The agreement goal was to set less invasive standards regarding using fuel with an increasing lower level of sulphur and engine rules when in the city port. Moreover, 2013, the Blue Flag II agreement was also signed. This last agreement has a more strict environmental-friendly and sustainable focus and forces cruises to use only green fuel when near the city. Research conducted by the Local Environmental Protection Agency showed how the two Blue Flag agreements gave good outputs in the short term to balance economic and environmental aspects [28].

In the last decade, following the growth of cruise ship industry and of the dimensions of this kind of vessels, cruises have faced the hatred of local community, of national artists and intellectuals and of movements such as *No Grandi Navi* and associations such as *Italia Nostra,* (the National Association for the Safeguard of the Italian Historical, Artistic and Environmental Heritage). The question behind the opponent's choice regards not only the environmental problems linked to the pollution created by the big and many cruise ships passing into the lagoon, but also the phenomenon of mass tourism incriminated to be the main reason behind the turn of the identity of Venice into a fake amusement park, the strong depopulation of the city and the possible destruction of its fragile structure due to the unsustainable mass of people passing into the city.

At the same time, it has to be underlined how also those favourable to the role of Venice as port of calls are represented by a movement: the Cruise Venice Committee. The Committee was founded in 2012 by Venezia Terminal Passeggeri. Its chairman stated that over 3000 jobs would be in danger if the regulation about tourism cruise would change. Moreover, according to the Committee, already after a few months after its foundation, it could count on the support of more than 4500 local enterprises.

The last debate's effect resulted in a local referendum, with no legal value, on the topic. It was held on the 18th of June 2017 and was promoted by environmentalist committees and the *No Grandi Navi* association. People voting against tourism cruise in Venice were 25,000, but actually they could have been more as the promoters had only that number of ballot papers.

By the way, it has to be underlined how the debate on cruise ships in the Venetian lagoon became more vibrant after 2012 and precisely after the disaster of Costa Concordia, Isola del Giglio, Italy on 13 January of the same year.

The only significant recent legislative development of the Venetian case is the 2014 Clini-Passera Decree 79/2012. Following its provisions, the Italian government has forbidden the passing through the Venice lagoon of cruise ships having a gross tonnage over 40,000 tons. By the way, being the route followed by the cruise ships in Venice the only one possible, because of its depths and characteristics, the effectiveness of the Decree was postponed by the Order 178/2014 to the moment in which an alternative and safe route would be built, leaving in the meantime the possibility to local authorities to mitigate the risks through specific measures aimed to safeguard Venetian lagoon. The last word on the issue is left to the Maritime Authority. Actually, another route has been found even if no structural steps have been taken to make it viable.

However, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) expressed in a statement how CLIA and its member lines would refrain voluntarily from bringing big cruise ships to Venice until a new navigational route becomes operational.
