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More than 300 people gathered on the Zattere waterfront in Venice
today to welcome the arrival of the Carnival Legend and to celebrate the
beginning of the new cruise season.
A flashmob was organised by the Cruise Venice Committee, an
association that promotes and supports cruise ship traffic in the lagoon, a
segment of the economy that the committee said brings more than 5,500 direct
jobs to Venice, resulting in direct spending in excess €180 million per year.
The event was attended by representatives of different groups, including
porters, mooring crew, security staff and hospitality and tourism service
vendors, who chose this festive approach to emphasize the often underestimated
importance of cruising for the local economy.
Massimo Bernardo, chairman of the Cruise Venice Committee, commented: "The
flashmob organised by Cruise Venice in conjunction with the start of the cruise
season was intended to emphasize the strategic role that shipping, and the
cruise industry in particular, plays in the city’s economy. It was the latest in
a long series of invitations to the top cruise lines that dock in Venice not to
steer their ships to competing ports, when the direct and indirect benefits of
this traffic are felt, among others, by hotel and restaurant operators, taxi
drivers, merchants, shipping agencies and freight forwarders, technical and
nautical service providers, not to mention the airport and all of related
services. ‘Welcome Cruising’ is the symbolic calling card of a city that wishes
to remain number-one among the world’s top cruise destinations.”
Emilio Gamba, vice chairman of Cruise Venice, said: “After more than 50 years
devoted to the sea, ships and the port, I feel I have to speak out in favour of
keeping and promoting large cruise ships in Venice, inasmuch as I do not believe
them to be responsible for environmental pollution. In Venice today, the cruise
industry represents only positive aspects in terms of the economy and protecting
jobs, and is the only sector that can mitigate the disastrous effects of the
global traffic crisis on the port of Venice.”
Pier Luigi Penzo, also vice chairman of Cruise Venice, expressed his opinion on
the environmental compatibility of the cruise traffic and the lagoon habitat:
“Large modern cruise ships are acknowledged by international classification
authorities as being the most environmentally friendly, and are also awarded
prizes for this. Cruise ships have displacement hulls and not chine hulls like
almost all lagoon vessels, meaning that at the established top speed of six
knots they do not create turbulence, waves, currents and so forth. In addition,
the port authorities, who are impartial and can boast a high degree of
professional expertise, have over time issued strict specific ordinances such as
the double-pilot and double-tug requirement, and so forth.” |
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