Cruise ships' go back to Venice reignites tensions
07 June, 2021
Saturday saw the primary cruise ship cast off from Venice after practically one . 5 years' suspension as a result of coronavirus pandemic, reinflaming a battle of phrases between supporters and opponents of the significant floating hotels.
With the MSC Orchestra looming over Saint Mark's square, demonstrators in small motorboats waved banners studying "no to cruise lines".
"Cruise ships bring popular and work tourism that truly brings little benefit to Venice," demonstrator Lucia Tedesco, 57, told AFP.
Concerned for the surroundings and the city's cultural heritage, opponents of the ships declare they cause large waves that undermine Venice's foundations and damage fragile ecosystem of its lagoon.
However the UNESCO World Heritage webpage is also residence to fans of the massive vessels, many organized in the "Venice at work" movement.
They state stopoffs by tourist cruises create jobs in a city dependent on tourism -- itself massively undermined by the pandemic.
Around 650 people boarded the MSC Orchestra in Venice just after showing a poor coronavirus test significantly less than four times old and moving another on the spot.
None showed any signal of annoyance in the strict hygiene methods made to prevent the intense outbreaks that strike some cruise lines at the pandemic's height.
Just fifty percent the MSC Orchestra's 3,000 locations will be filled because of its tour consuming destinations in southern Italy, Greece and Croatia.
The ship's crew took on supplies and tightened up safety protocols throughout their time in Venice.
Venice's economy had shed "around a single billion euros" ($1.2 billion) in the area of a time from the 800,000 fewer cruise passengers visiting, CRUISELINES International Association director Francesco Galietti told AFP -- calling the Orchestra's end "our contribution to the restart of the city".
As one of the world's best-known holiday destinations, Venice's cruise liner debate always resonates beyond Italy's borders.
On Tuesday, a slew of international performers -- from Mick Jagger to Wes Anderson and Tilda Swinton -- wrote to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Primary Minister Draghi and the mayor of Venice.
They needed a "final stop" to visits by cruise ships together with better management of tourist flows, protection of the lagoon ecosystem and limits on property speculation to safeguard the city's "physical integrity but also cultural identity".
Source: japantoday.com
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