A December 2018 survey by Seatrade Cruise News finds that over the past 3 years, 27% of cruise ports have put into place or are considering restrictions on numbers of cruise port calls or passengers.

Underlying causes are believed to be overtourism concerns related to congestion and the environment, which have led to community opposition to inceased cruise tourism.

67% of ports surveyed said they expect the number of cruise-ship calls at their port to increase over the next 2 years. And 99% said they expect the length of calls at their port to stay about the same or increase.

59% of those surveyed said they receive adequate support from their local tourist board.

Comments from port officials surveyed included:

“Cruise is being scapegoated for overtourism. The level of spending by our transit cruise visitors was studied and found to be too low to allow any promotion for more cruise tourism as it is difficult to keep cruise visitors out of the main city destinations.”

That port official's remark gets right to the heart of the problem: once at the port, cruise passengers gravitate to the city's tourist hotspots - adding to existing congestion - but while there spend relatively little money.