‘In Venice, cruising has been unfairly demonised but can be improved’, my comments for ‘Cruise ships: Blessing or blight?’ a Good Tourism Insight Bite including many contributions
These multiple contributions by travel and tourism stakeholders were published by the Good Tourism blog on 2 May 2023. You can read them by clicking on the following link and registering free for the Good Tourism blog, which I highly recommend: https://www.goodtourismblog.com/2023/05/cruise-ships-blessing-or-blight/#DS This is the text of my own comments: In Venice, cruising has been … Continue reading
My latest article on tourism in Venice: ‘Mass tourism in Venice: Are city officials overreacting?’ Published by The “Good Tourism” Blog
This article was published on 11 April 2023. It can be read by following the link below: It is free to subscribe to the above blog, which I highly recommend for many excellent articles. Feel free to share it on social media. The text of my article is also below: Mass tourism in Venice: Are … Continue reading
Venice City Council will set limits on the numbers of day-trippers who can enter the city and charge entrance fees
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced on 30 May 2022 that Venice City Council will begin experimenting with bookings for day-trippers to enter Venice this July using this website: https://www.veneziaunica.it/en/content/how-it-works. He declared that this will not yet be obligatory to book to enter the city. Instead, day-trippers who book from 1 August 2022 thirty days before … Continue reading
Today the first dock, ‘Liguria’, for large ships was opened at Marghera on the mainland of Venice’s lagoon.
This new dock will allow a cruise ship to dock there this Saturday, 9 April 2022, for the first time. It will avoid sailing through the centre of Venice and St. Mark’s Basin. In addition, Fusina Terminal, also on the mainland of the lagoon, will provide support for docking and a second dock, Terminal Tiv, … Continue reading
The MOSE mobile dams were raised five times last week to reduce high flooding in Venice. But work on the dams is still incomplete and two locks are not functioning, placing limits on shipping and affecting the lagoon.
It is great that the MOSE mobile dams in Venice were raised five times last week to reduce high flooding. This means the dams have been deployed 25 times since 3 October 2020 against flooding. While most of the talk at the ongoing COP26 conference on climate change is focusing on mitigating against climate warming, … Continue reading
My live TV interview on TRT World News on the day large cruise ships were banned from the centre of Venice. This ban reveals this unelected Italian government cares more about UNESCO threats and its international reputation than Venetians
VID_20210801_183329.mp4 Click on the play symbol in the picture on the left to watch the interview. On 13 July 2021, the Italian government cabinet passed a decree banning ships of more than 25,000 tonnes, higher than 35 metres and longer than 180 metres from navigating down the Giudecca Canal in the centre of Venice from … Continue reading
The return of foreign tourists to Venice is an opportunity for revival.
The return of foreign tourists to Venice is an opportunity for revival. While walking the alleyways of Venice in May 2020 just after the severe COVID-19 lockdown had ended, I was shocked by how many shops, restaurants and hotels were closed. Although I predicted (https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/27/italys-lockdown-has-been-a-recipe-for-disaster/) lockdowns in Italy would cause economic devastation, I was amazed … Continue reading
Italy’s government decrees on shipping and cruise ships in Venice include more poor decision-making
Were the government decrees on shipping and Venice issued late on 31 March 2021 and on 1 April 2021 rushed through before the Easter break? When I read about them on 1 April, I thought they were April Fools’ Day jokes. The decree issued on 31 March calls for public consultations and sanctions €2.2 million … Continue reading
Venice raises all ‘MOSE’ mobile dams to block its lagoon from the sea for the first time, despite protests and problems
On 10 July 2020, for the first time ever, Venice’s lagoon effectively became an artificial lake temporarily. This great feat of engineering was achieved by raising all 78 mobile floodgates at the three inlets between the lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. These had all previously been raised during past tests, but this was the first … Continue reading
‘The people are leading Italy out of lockdown.’ My article on how some brave Italians are helping the country escape from #Covid-19 lockdown. Published by @spikedonline
This article was published on 21 May 2020 and can be read by clicking on the link below: The people are leading Italy out of lockdown I welcome any comments. The text of the article is also below: The people are leading Italy out of lockdown Public pressure has forced the government to open up … Continue reading
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