Italy Tourism Protest: Venice locals voice displeasure with cruise liners, number of tourists

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Europe

03:35

On Sunday, crowds gathered in central Venice to protest against mass tourism. Residents of the lagoon city are angry at what they say is the negative impact of giant cruise ships, and the millions of people that descend on the city every year. Natalie Carney reports.

Venice is a magical place at the crack of dawn. But a few hours later, it could be mistaken for one of the world's many amusement parks. Annually, more than 30 million tourists visit Venice, many travel by cruise ships that snake their way through the city's Canale della Giudecca. And this is upsetting many local residents.

MARCO BARAVALLE COMMITTEE AGAINST BIG CRUISE SHIPS OF VENICE "Big cruise ships are passing really in the heart of the city, really in front of St. Marco's square, causing very very important problems in terms of pollution, in terms of damages to the environment, to the very delicate environment of the lagoon and also in terms of safety."

According to NABU, an independent German environmental group, a mid-size cruise ship's diesel engine can use 150 tons of fuel daily, emitting the same amount of pollution as one million cars. And the wake produced by the big ships is eroding the foundation of Venice's old buildings and harming the delicate lagoon that surrounds the city.

TOMMASO CACCIARI COMMITTEE AGAINST BIG CRUISE SHIPS OF VENICE "When this movement of water meets the lagoon, its causes something that we can compare with a Tsunami. So when this wave caused by the ship's wake goes over the lagoon, sand is then sucked back into the retreating wave so we lose a sizeable amount of sand, which is impossible to replace."

Pictures taken from space by renowned Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti show the displacement of sand around Venice. Noticeable differences are also taking place on shore to cater to Venice's visitors.

NATALIE CARNEY VENICE, ITALY Venice has become what some are calling, a city stolen by tourism. Local pizzerias have made way for fast food joints, cheap trinket shops and big brand shops. Over the years, this has led to an exodus of locals.

Higher rents on commercial properties and higher profit on residential properties are pushing many residents out of the city. With only 53,000 residents and that number falling by 1000 people per year according to locals, tourists easily outnumber Venetians.

MARCO BARAVALLE COMMITTEE AGAINST BIG CRUISE SHIPS OF VENICE "It's very easy for the present law basically to change your house from being a house that you can rent to residents to touristic use. So it is very very easy to change the destination of use for your home, your apartment, your house. So we need policies the really reverse this type of lodging."

Yet, local figures show a 19.4 percent increase in tourist spending last year and that brings in revenue and jobs.

ROSANNA SCIOVILLA VENETIAN CRAFT SHOP OWNER "Don't forget Venice is a sea city. Why don't we want the ships in Venice? They have approved some new projects, they've talked about it a lot so now they have to decide. Maybe the ships can be taken somewhere else. But we don't have to keep them away. We need to find a solution."

And a solution is what these protesters are demanding their new government tackles before what attracts tourists to Venice in the first place, is all washed away. Natalie Carney, CGTN, Venice.