Around a hundred cruise ship stopovers scheduled this year in harbor

Around a hundred cruise ship stopovers scheduled this year in harbor
Around a hundred cruise ship stopovers scheduled this year in Toulon harbor

Located a hundred miles west of , the commercial port of seems far from the agitation caused by Christian Estrosi's recent – ​​unfriendly – ​​statements on the cruise. With around a hundred scheduled cruise ship stops this year, or probably a little more so with the vagaries of the weather, the port of Toulon, which has two passenger terminals (Toulon city center and the shipping pier at La Seyne), is visibly on the rise with cruise lines. In particular from the Italian Costa Crociere which is making a notable return to the harbor by choosing La Seyne-sur-Mer as the head of the line for its ship Pacific Coast.

Significant benefits

In total, according to data provided by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIV), concessionaire of the harbor's commercial ports, between 250,000 and 300,000 cruise passengers (to which must be added some 82,000 crew members) are expected on the banks of the harbor and beyond during 2025.

What financial windfall does this represent? In the absence of a recent study, it is difficult to say with precision. But at the CCIV ports management, we rely on a 2023 study commissioned by the port of . “Like Toulon, Ajaccio is a port in the heart of the city. This is a little less true for the La Seyne-sur-Mer cruise terminal, which is much more eccentric. In addition, Toulon shares many customers/shipowners with Ajaccio. The results of the study carried out for the port of Corse-du-Sud are thus easily transposable to the Toulon city center terminal”.

According to said study, excluding excursions, stopover expenses reach 32 euros per day on average per cruise line and 20 euros per crew member. With notable differences depending on the nationality of the passengers. Thus, a German spends 26 euros on average, compared to 40 euros for an American, or even 53 euros for a Belgian. This is important data when we know that the majority of the 32 stopovers scheduled this year at the Toulon city center terminal will be “luxury” stopovers with a majority of American passengers.

Efforts from all stakeholders

But beyond the volume of stopovers which – the management of the CCIV ports knows – causes opponents of cruising to react, the concessionaire of the commercial ports of the harbor wants to highlight the real efforts made to decarbonize activities maritime and port. Whether by regulations, ports and adjoining territories or shipowners. Three examples. Since October 2022, the “Sustainable Cruise” charter commits signatories to only use fuels with a maximum sulfur content of 0.1% in French waters or to equip their ships with closed-loop scrubbers: 31 shipowners, representing more than 88% of stops in the Mediterranean have already signed this charter.

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With its electrical connection system for ships at dock (CENAQ), successfully tested last December by the Brilliant Lady of the Virgin company, Toulon is, at present, the only port with Malta where high-power liners (12 MW) can connect to the quayside. And the electrification of the armament pole at La Seyne-sur-Mer should follow.

Also during stopovers, shipowners are increasingly offering their passengers carbon-free excursions by favoring local tours to reduce travel with high carbon emissions. This involves the use of public transport, bike rides or even walking tours.

The revolution is underway. You just have to give it time.

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