We’ve been arguing in favor of something like this for some time, and when Doug pointed me to this article, it was somewhat encouraging–but unfortunately the forces working against the lagoon’s best interests are well monied and have Mayor Brugnaro’s backing.
Sassi Italy Tours 
I don’t think I’ll see a solution in my lifetime! Common sense just can’t triumph over “Follow the money”.
If we can’t collectively appreciate the need to preserve Venice, I can’t imagine humanity has much self preservation instinct left. Sad.
The cruise ships make Venice unbearable, too many people in too condensed a time frame, it must be so hard on this fragile city, the locals, the built environment and the ecosystem of the lagoon, and i don’t know that they will be spending, I see them with their packed lunches from the ship…and i hate to think of the potential for an oil spill, the costa concordia was not long ago…
I was reading something pretty definitive a few weeks back that made clear how little help the cruise ship denizens were actually giving the Venetian economy. If you’re winning an enoteca or an osteria and not a tourist trap near San Marco, they’re just not helping at all.
The cruise ships are destroying Venice. There are more than enough tourists. The people on the cruise ships spend very little money on land!
It’s so true; I’ll have to find it, but Dream of Venice posted a couple months ago an article about just how little the cruise ships were actually contributing to the local economy.