Tourism has a heavy impact on the environment, with critical overtourism issues related to fossil fuels, waste management, marine pollution, and social and economic impacts—some positive but not always in favour of local communities. The cruise market is a significant market segment, and it rebounded in 2023, with 31.7 million passengers, 7% above 2019 levels. Projections suggest that this number could reach 40 million by 2027.

This ongoing growth in tourism particularly impacts coastal regions.  Tourism exerts pressure on already fragile natural ecosystems and, in some cases, has sparked strong protests from local communities vulnerable to the destabilization of key sectors, especially housing. 

How is the cruise sector regulated, and are these rules effective? How can we ensure that the cruise industry becomes more sustainable?
Dive into these critical questions in this podcast episode with Angelo Sciacca, Blue Tourism Initiative Coordinator and Senior Research Fellow at IDDRI, who provides insights from the recently published report “Policy Pathways Towards a More Sustainable Cruise Tourism Sector”. 

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