Key West (Photo courtesy of Pixabay/antoniocuellarph)
It wasn’t the first time Key West voters tried to put the brakes on an industry that brought nearly one million visitors ashore in 2019. A 2013 referendum on funding a study to dredge and widen the shipping channel to enable larger vessels was soundly defeated by 74 percent of voters.
And it certainly wasn’t the first time that residents of a port city pushed back against cruise tourism — which can unleash thousands of visitors all at once — bringing with them a divisive combination of dollars and disruption. From Barcelona to Bar Harbor and Grand Cayman to Venice, there have been loud and long debates on the pros and cons of large-ship cruise tourism.
It’s a complicated issue. The cruise lines say the arrival of their ships in Key West brings an infusion of cash to local bars, restaurants, tour operators, and retailers. They say many guests who first visit a destination by ship later return as higher-spending land tourists. Owners and employees of cruise tourism-serving businesses tend to agree.
Small Population & A Sensitive Natural Setting
But those seeking to restrict cruise lines make the argument that with a local population of just 25,000 and a unique and fragile natural setting, welcoming up to 6,000 cruise visitors a day is simply too much. Key West is located amidst the third-largest barrier reef in the world, and ships pass through a marine preserve to access the harbor.
A scuba diver at the Florida Reef (Photo courtesy of Pixabay/jtaylor75)
Environmentalists say large ships like the 84,000 gross ton, 2,400-passenger Disney Magic churn up the seafloor, causing chronic turbidity that damages reefs and aquatic life.
Here’s how renowned Florida author and Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiassen colorfully described Key West’s cruise scene in a recent piece:
“Before the pandemic shut down the cruise lines, a busy day at the piers near Mallory Square meant as many as three huge ships and more than 6,000 passengers — a pale stampede of chipper pilgrims coming down the gangways in search of rum drinks and witty T-shirts about rum drinks.”
Studies cited by the Key West Committee for Safer, Cleaner Ships suggest that while cruise tourists make up about 50 percent of visitors to Key West, they only represent about 7 percent of tourist spending.
Arlo Haskell, one of the leaders of that group — which sponsored the petitions that put the cruise proposals on the November ballot — told Cruise Radio that a year without cruise ships has clearly demonstrated to locals the environmental benefits of managing cruise traffic in the future.
“Striking Improvements In Water Quality”
“Subtracting cruise ships led to striking improvements in water quality, and people are seeing the environment with fresh eyes. It was the ‘no sail’ period due to the pandemic that really energized this movement,” Haskell said.
“We’re not against the cruise industry. We’re just saying: ‘Send us your smaller ships.’ Those big ships have a place, but it’s not here. And I wonder why cruise lines would want to take their ships where they’re not wanted.”
Arlo Haskell
Haskell also argued that despite the lack of cruise ships over the past year, Key West is enjoying a booming tourist season, with bed tax and sales tax revenues higher than in the past. Part of that could be explained by fewer options or more obstacles to travel outside U.S. borders due to the global health crisis.
