Europe’s Main Ports Rein In Cruise Journey

Throughout 2025, in a bid to sort out overtourism, Barcelona, Nice, Cannes, and Isafjordur in Iceland launched plans to scale back the variety of cruise ship passengers allowed to disembark in European ports. It seems that 2026 shall be one other yr of reining in cruise journey in Europe, at a time when cruises have by no means been extra widespread globally.

The cruise trade is booming and quickly shedding its picture as floating retirement properties; there’s, fairly merely, a cruise tailor-made to everybody and each pastime, and it’s primed for development. Cruises solely make up 2.7% of the worldwide journey sector and are seen as one of many most secure type of journey. In 2024, there have been 34.6 million ocean-going cruises globally, and from 2023 to 2024, the variety of passengers crusing elevated by 22%.

Spain Overtourism—Cruise Berths Reduced In Barcelona

Spain has lengthy been a microcosm for the remainder of Europe relating to overtourism points, and nowhere else is the strain felt so acutely. Record-breaking customer numbers are straining native sources and sparking protests in regards to the perceived impacts of getting too many holidaymakers or digital nomads.

The newest effort by the Spanish authorities to curb vacationer numbers entails decreasing the variety of terminals obtainable to cruise ships in Barcelona’s docks. In 2024, practically 13 million cruise passengers arrived in Spain, with nearly 4 million of those disembarking in Barcelona.

As a consequence, Bloomberg reviews that town council will cut back the variety of berths from seven to 5 in 2026. The variety of guests disembarking from cruise ships elevated by 20% between 2018 and 2024, so it is a transfer that town council believes renders the Spanish cruise sector “more controlled and sustainable.”

Overtourism in France Means 2026 Will Bring In More Cruise Bans

At the top of June, 400 miles away alongside the Mediterranean coast, Cannes applied a ban on cruise ships. From January 1, 2026, onwards, the port will solely settle for cruises carrying fewer than 1,000 passengers. Larger cruise ships will use smaller boats to switch passengers into the city, as is the case in some Caribbean ports, similar to St. Maarten. In addition, solely 6,000 day by day cruise ship passengers will be capable of go to Cannes in complete.

Cannes’ Mayor David Lisnard stated in an announcement that “Cannes has become a major cruise ship destination, with real economic benefits. It’s not about banning cruise ships, but about regulating, organizing, and setting guidelines for their navigation.” The City Council said its goal was “for cruise tourism to be less numerous, less big, less polluting and more aesthetic.”

It follows a transfer made simply 20 miles alongside the Côte d’Azur 5 months earlier by Nice’s Mayor, Christian Estrosi, which banned cruise ships with greater than 900 passengers from getting into the harbor from July 2025. Nice recorded 160,000 cruise ship guests in 2024, with an anticipated demand of over 300,000 for 2026. However, a French court docket has since blocked the ban, claiming that Estrosi lacks the legislative energy to regulate the harbors, and that solely regional or nationwide authorities have the facility to impose such restrictions. It is a battle anticipated to rumble into summer season 2026.

Iceland launched measures to scale back the variety of cruise ships and visiting passengers by implementing a brand new charge of roughly $18 per individual, per nightly keep. This charge provides 1000’s to the associated fee for cruise corporations and has led to some cancellations.

It’s possible not the final time a European port closes its docks to massive cruise ships, with statistics indicating that cruise corporations are more and more heading to the Caribbean for numerous causes, certainly one of them being European overtourism.

Overtourism—France And Spain Are Europe’s Most Visited Countries

France is probably the most visited nation on this planet, with Spain not far behind. In 2024, France welcomed over 100 million guests by its borders, a report, and Spain noticed 94 million vacationers.

Visitor numbers far outnumber residents; France, for instance, has a inhabitants of just below 70 million. Europe itself has way more guests than residents yearly; in 2024, the variety of guests exceeded 747 million.

Due to its preeminent place as a bunch for vacationers from around the globe, France sees greater than its fair proportion of personal jets arriving in Paris and/or heading all the way down to the Mediterranean. It has arguably achieved greater than different international locations in making an attempt to deal with the environmental impacts of its guests, by legally banning short-haul flights when a practice journey of underneath 2.5 hours is obtainable. It has additionally been one of many few European international locations to suggest curbing low cost flights by suggesting using EU-wide minimal costs. The authorities has rolled out a vast summer season month-to-month practice move for 16-27 year-olds for €49, and €1 practice tickets for everybody on the primary weekend of each month. The nation has additionally closely invested in biking infrastructure.

But it is a tremendous line. These measures arguably do not go far sufficient to resolve the environmental and social issues. The financial image is much extra complicated, because it’s unclear whether or not cruise passengers add sufficient to the native economies they go to to make the congestion and environmental headache worthwhile for the locals. Cue the choice to restrict the variety of cruise ship berths and to implement passenger limits.

Further alongside the Côte d’Azur from Nice and Cannes, locals within the southern French metropolis of Marseille are at the moment battling the event of a luxurious cruise terminal challenge on its picturesque shoreline reverse the Chateau d’If, the fictional jail of Edmond Dantès within the Count of Monte Cristo. The kicker is that nearly half is about to be funded by the State.

So, whereas Spain and France can prepared the ground with revolutionary rules to regulate overtourism, as the 2 most visited locations globally, is it sufficient?

MORE FROM FORBES

ForbesHere’s How Retirement Visas For U.S. Expats Compare, Based On New DataBy Alex LedsomForbesThis French Region Is Offering €1 HousesBy Alex LedsomForbesDigital Nomad Visa Ranking 2025, Based On New DataBy Alex Ledsom