WHAT IS OVERTOURISM?
The World Tourism Organization defines overtourism as "the impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitor experiences in a negative way."
does cruise tourism contribute to overtourism in James bay, victoria?
Yes. Victoria’s cruise season (March to October) sees over 300 cruise ships arrive in Victoria at Ogden Point with up to 1,000,000 passengers in a residential neighbourhood of 13,000 people. That’s 75 passengers for every local resident.
In 2014, the President of CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) acknowledged that Ogden Point is uniquely adjacent to a residential neighbourhood and cautioned against too many ships in port in one day.
Cruise tourism results in overcrowding, traffic congestion and noise in James Bay and reduces residents’ quality of life. It is low value, high volume mass tourism with limited economic benefits.
What about traffic?
A 2015 traffic assessment study showed that the streets of James Bay were already at capacity, yet since then, cruise ship calls, and the related traffic from buses, taxis, non-motorized vehicles, and additional pedestrian traffic has increased. Most cruise passengers travel in large highway buses or taxis. Large highway style shuttle buses leave on fixed schedules, often with low capacity. There are frequent complaints about speeding taxis.
Since 2018, large industrial garbage and tanker trucks have added to the congestion. From 2015 to 2023, planned ship arrivals increased 24%, and planned passenger arrivals increased 44%, stressing already overloaded local streets.
What about noise?
Studies from 2009 and 2011 showed that James Bay community noise levels effectively doubled with cruise ships in port. Noise includes ship generators and ship vibrations, sound systems, horns and traffic. Ships often do not leave until almost midnight and continue to sound horns for up to an hour after leaving.
The resultant noise impacts do not respect “quiet hours”, the period for residents to have predictable quality time for sleep. ‘Quiet hours’ are recognized by responsive organizations such as the World Health Organization which first published Community Noise Guidelines in 1995.
How do other port communities address overtourism?
Many port communities around the world are demanding environmental accountability and local review. Limiting the number of cruise ships and/or passengers in port and scheduling arrivals and departures that respect residents’ quality of life are the most important and impactful approaches. Some communities have implemented passenger taxes or day tripper fees. Others are asking for cruise free days.
Globally, destinations including Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Juneau, Palma de Majorca, Dubrovnik, Bora Bora, Key West, and Bar Harbor are all implementing bans or restrictions on cruise tourism.
Aren’t cruise lines committed to sustainable tourism?
‘Sustainable’ or ‘regenerative’ tourism are concepts that cruise lines have adopted in marketing campaigns, but in practice, cruise ships are known to bring overcrowding, noise, traffic, and air and ocean pollution to ports-of-call, and these actions are contrary to many industry talking points. Some ships have been fined by US courts for dumping oily waste into the ocean, been convicted of felony charges and violated probation conditions.
Aren’t cruises good for business?
Cruise tourism is high-volume low-value mass tourism for Victoria (but high profit for the cruise lines). It is in direct competition with traditional hospitality tourism when visitors stay in town and contribute significantly to a range of local businesses.
Victoria is a port-of-call, not a home port like Vancouver or Seattle where people start and/or finish their cruise vacations and tend to spend more time in those ports. In 2024, the majority of ships in Victoria arrived after 7 pm and left by midnight, leaving little time to disembark or spend money. Cruise economic benefits in Victoria are overinflated, and do not take into account unseen costs related to our health, environment and use of local infrastructure.
What are the numbers?
While cruise tourism contributes to the Victoria economy, the numbers show that cruise tourism is low value mass tourism compared to traditional non-cruise tourism. In 2022, Stand.Earth published a study based on 2019 Victoria cruise tourism numbers:
Non-cruise tourism spending was over 20 times more than cruise tourism spending
Cruise tourists accounted for less than 2% of tourist spending in the region
Non-cruise tourism created nearly 31 times more jobs than cruise operations in Greater Victoria
Non-cruise tourism in Greater Victoria generated nearly 25 times more in government taxes than cruise tourism
Why do cruise ships arrive so late in Victoria?
An 1886 American maritime law - the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) - requires cruise ships traveling between US ports to call on a foreign port or face fines of US $996 per passenger (2025 numbers). In 2023, 80% of cruise ship calls used Victoria as the only foreign stop on their itinerary, thus fulfilling the PVSA requirement and avoiding potential fines of over USD 800 million.
Since Victoria is a regulatory stop, ships only need to stay for a few hours. Only 13% of annual passenger capacity make Victoria a genuine destination, and these calls tend to be smaller ships. So 87% of annual passenger capacity is not because they want to be here, but because their ships are required to do so to comply with a 19th century American law.
What is the Passenger Vessel Services Act?
The PVSA was created to protect the US ship-building industry and states that a passenger ship must be US built, flagged, owned, and crewed (thus required to pay US minimum wage and comply with US labor laws) to carry passengers directly between US ports. If a ship does not meet those requirements it must stop at a foreign port or be subject to a per-passenger penalty.
Victoria’s cruise season is reliant on Alaska cruises: most Alaska cruises starting in Seattle go directly to Alaska, so must make a foreign stop before returning to Seattle. All cruise ships that call in Victoria are foreign-built and foreign-flagged. Only a few cruise ships make Victoria a genuine destination. They tend to be smaller ships with average stops of 12 hours.
How does the PVSA impact cruise tourist spending in Victoria?
The majority of ships calling in Victoria for a PVSA stop arrive after 6 pm, with an average arrival time of 7:30pm. Since passengers need at least 45 minutes to disembark, and about 30 minutes to reach downtown Victoria and need to return to the ship one hour before departure, they have little time to sightsee, dine, shop, or tour, impacting local businesses and cruise passenger access to a wider range of daytime Victoria activities. It is unknown how many passengers actually disembark and visit town.
The 2022 study of the economic impact of Victoria’s 2019 cruise season was based on a similar schedule. The study found that cruise tourist spending represented less than 2% of overall tourist spending in Greater Victoria.
How does the PVSA impact Victoria residents’ quality of life?
The majority of cruise ships calling in Victoria for a PVSA stop arrive after 7 pm and leave between 11 pm and 1 am, making evenings and late nights the busiest, noisiest time at Victoria Cruise Ship Terminal, which is located in one of Victoria’s highest density residential neighbourhoods.
PVSA-driven cruise schedules compress arrivals into multiple ships arriving together at night, resulting in severe traffic and noise disruptions: late night shuttle buses, taxi traffic, pedicabs with loud customers, and groups of passengers on foot in narrow residential streets. Ships sound horns on departure at midnight, often just feet away from residences, when residents would like to enjoy their quiet time.