Cannes has been tired of the megacruceros. The great drama of the industry is that more and more cities think the same

Cruises yes, but with nuances. And limits. Cannes He just added in the long run (and growing) List of port cities that have decided to put limits to the influx of large transatlantic full of tourists. The town of the French Riviera does not want to give up a millionaire business that moves thousands of visitors every year, but He has just imposed Certain conditions to the shipowners: Megabarcos are over and there will be a daily passenger stop.

The measure is interesting for the weight of Cannes in the international tourist circuit, but also because with it the city of the French Riviera adds to other cities that have already opted for a similar policy (or have weighed it), as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Greece, Italy either Venice.

Stoping the brake. Cannes is known above all for its film festival, but it is also an important tourist pole of The Costa Azulone of the great destinations of the country, behind only Paris. Each year they go to the French Riviera millions of tourists and a good part of them do it aboard large cruises. Statista Calculate that in 2015 they stopped in the ports of the Costa Azul, especially Nice, Villefranche and Cannes, about 546,000 passengers.

I monde Precise That last year Cannes’s bay received 175 scales, in some cases of ships with capacity for more than 5,000 passengers, and added 460,000 cruise members. To understand the weight of the region on the tourist map comes with a look at The data of the Government: In 2024 the country’s ports provided for adding 1,691 scales, of which 395 concentrated in Cannes, Niza or Villefrance. Now the City Council has decided to brake.

Goodbye large ships. On Friday the Cannes Consistory voted in favor of applying certain restrictions to the flow of transatlantic. It is not about closing the doors, nor cutting the arrival of cruise passengers, but of limiting them. From 2026 they will only be able to access the ports ships with less than 1,000 passengers and the total number of cruisers landed over a day will not be able to exceed in any case of the 6,000, Precise Associated Press.

If a ship of more than 1,000 passengers (the industry already has large ships with capacity for more than 7,000 customers, such as the Icon of the Seas) I would like to take Cannes to his passage, he would have no choice but to transfer it to smaller ships, as long as he does not exceed the daily quota.

“Less cruises, smaller”. That is the idea of ​​the City of Cannes, which emphasize What are its objectives: “Less cruise ships, smaller, less pollutants and more attractive. There will never be more than two or three giant transatlantics in the bay at the same time.” According to detail The Consistory itself, the measure seeks to reduce the number of transatlantic scales by 50% with capacity for more than 3,000 passengers, changing them for “smaller, modern, aesthetic and environmentally respectful ships.”

“Cannes has become an important cruise destination, with real economic benefits. It is not about prohibiting them, but about regulating, organizing and supervising the navigation of these floating platforms, sometimes very polluting,” claims The mayor of Cannes, Davis Lisnard. “As of January 1, we will limit the scales to the cruises with less than 1,000 passengers, with a maximum limit of 6,000 passengers Diaries. A reasonable measure. “

Add and follow. The measure is interesting for the weight of Cannes on the world tourist map, but also because with its decision the French city adds to the long (and growing) list of cities that choose to restrict the flow of cruises. The argument is usually the same: the industry generates income and dynamizes the sector, but leaves a series of externalities that have earned a strong opposition in some of the most tourist ports.

In Amsterdam they have come to cross out the influx of passengers of “Lobster plague” And a few days ago, during an organized protest against the mass tourism he had Replicas In other parts of Europe (Florence, Venice, Palma, Marseille, Genoa or Lisbon), complaints were also heard that compare cruises with “Basureros”. As a backdrop there are studies that warn of Environmental impact of passenger ships, which has already taken shipping companies to Find alternatives.

From Mykonos to Barcelona. The result is that more and more administrations choose to restrict cruise traffic on their coasts or, at least, open the debate. It has happened with greater or less intensity in Amsterdam, Greece either Italy.

The industry itself has reacted To that wave making it clear that it will be thought twice when including in its itineraries destinations in which you have appreciated episodes of Tourism Fobia. That is the idea that He left driving A year ago the director in Europe of the CLIA Association: “The possibility of adapting itineraries will be considered if for some reason we feel that not all passengers will be well treated.”

Images | Xavier Photography (UNSPLASH) and JRG.Jennerich (Flickr)

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