what economic impact for the city?

Nice is attacking cruise ships. Mayor Christian Estrosi wants to ban them this summer off the Promenade des Anglais by issuing a decree. He denounces pollution and over-tourism on these large boats which he describes as “floating hotels”. But this announcement is debated on site.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, wants to ban cruise ships this summer in Nice. He issued a decree to this effect. “I don’t want floating hotels to anchor in front of Nice,” he said.

Its objective is therefore to wage war against these polluting boats and over-tourism. This ban would apply to cruise ships longer than 190 meters and those carrying more than 900 people. And this could be put in place as early as July 1.

The announcement is rather well received by Fanny, from Nice. “I love swimming near the port and it’s true that when there are boats it doesn’t pollute the water, but it pollutes the air. And it creates a visual and noise nuisance,” she believes.

A good signal also for Guillaume Picard co-founder of the Stop Croisière association.

“Finally, politicians seem to want to take into account the nuisances of cruise ships which go with over-tourism. So indeed, limiting cruises is already a step forward,” he believes.

An economic loss

But for Jean-François Suhas, President of Marseille Provence Cruise Club, refusing the arrival of cruise passengers would above all be an economic loss.

“What he forgets is first of all that there are people who work on these boats who are locals,” he complains.

“There are those who transport passengers, people who pilot the boats like me. It is this value chain which is important. The only traffic which generates wealth for the destinations is the liners because obviously , passengers will spend too,” continues Jean-François Suhas.

According to him, the cruise represents 600 million euros in benefits for the region.