2023-07-23 16:21:00
Amsterdam joins its voice to those of other cities, including Venice, Italy, and Santorini, Greece, which limit access to cruise passengers in order to reduce the pollution generated by these ships as well as the excessive influx of tourists.
The mythical port of Amsterdam is about to see its giants disappear. Port of stop for a hundred cruise ships every year, mass tourism – of very short duration – has had its day.
Amsterdam on Thursday passed a motion for cruise ships to dock outside its historic center.
We’re starting to see destinations that dare to say to the tourism industries, ”We don’t want you here anymore, or at least not in such large numbers.”
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An unenviable environmental record
A single cruise ship emits the CO2 equivalent of 83,600 vehicles. Its emissions of fine particles represent more than one million cars.
Departing from Miami, a cruise in the Caribbean represents 2,500 to 3,000 kilometers by boat. We are talking about 15 liters per 100 kilometers per passenger, specifies Luc Renaud, associate professor in the Department of Urban and Tourism Studies at UQAM.
In Quebec, the trend is more towards an increase in attendance. Concerned about the reception capacity, the Port of Québec nevertheless limits daily landings to two ships and 15,000 passengers. That said, in 2022, the province’s overall tourism revenue was $14.5 billion, according to estimates from the Ministry of Tourism. By comparison, according to the World Tourism Organization, Europe’s tourism revenues are more around 725.8 billion.
Going against the grain of eco-responsible tourism
However, the cruise industry has not yet reached its full potential. There are more ships in the shipyards, notes Alain Grenier, boats that take the path of excess, against the current of eco-responsible tourism.
The new Icon of the Seas, designed by Royal Caribbean, will soon become the largest cruise ship in the world, with its 40 restaurants, seven swimming pools and an average of nearly 7,000 passengers on board. It measures 365 meters and weighs 250,000 tons, five times more than the Titanic.
The Icon of the Seas is a paradox in itself, it’s a symbol of unbridled capitalism, it’s really the perfect example of the race towards ”oversize”.
The cruise industry is a little disconnected from reality, believes Alain Grenier. There is a discourse, which has moreover been accentuated by the pandemic, that we must reduce mass tourism to improve its ecological footprint and improve its economic footprint.
Royal Caribbean has set a whole new standard for cruise ship expectations, says Alain Grenier. This company also ranks among the worst in terms of environmental footprint.
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The Icon of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship in the world, at 365 meters and weighing 250,000 tons.
Photo : Royal Caribbean International
Saturation of the reception capacity
There is saturation of the reception capacity when tens of thousands of cruise passengers stop somewhere. The Caribbean and other developing countries often do not have the infrastructure to receive ships of this size.
The possibility of dismantling a historic bridge in Rotterdam was even raised last year so that the super yacht of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, could pass on its way to sea. The idea was eventually abandoned and the ship was instead towed without its mast.
Correction
A first version of this text indicated that the Rotterdam bridge had been dismantled to let Jeff Bezos’ yacht pass. Although the idea circulated, it was never implemented.
Despite the efforts of cities like Amsterdam, the cruise industry expects to welcome more than 40 million cruise passengers within five years, 10 million more than before the pandemic.
It must be said that the Icon of the Seas had been in the shipyards since 2016, before the pandemic and at the very beginning of overtourism. This is in particular what explains why the ship is not so adjusted to the discourse of the present moment, underlines Alain Grenier.
Moreover, the market for boats of this size is still very present. According to Alain Grenier, these ships are trying to attract a more savvy clientele, who are looking to party, compared to an older clientele, more traditional for this kind of getaway at sea.
With information from Jean-Philippe Hugues
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