Nice to Ban Large Cruise Ships & Reduce Airbnbs

Nice, France is joining the growing list of European cities to ban large cruise ships. 

On January 21, 2025, Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, told the local press that he wants to keep “low-cost” cruises away from the region, and is “working to cancel all cruises that can still be cancelled ahead of drafting a banning order” (via Riviera Radio). 

The Nice ban will target cruise ships carrying more than 900 passengers (via Riviera Radio), citing environmental and sustainability concerns. The goal is to restrict port activity so that no such cruise ships arrive after July 1, 2025.

The cruise ship ban will combat overtourism in the area and limit “customers [who] consume nothing and leave their waste behind,” Estrosi told French media.

According to the same reports, nearby Cannes is looking at a similar ban.

Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, Cunard, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Viking will all be impacted by the decision. 

Estosi is also looking to limit Airbnbs in Nice, noting that he approves of them as a way for “[Nice] retirees to make a student studio profitable during the summer,” but not when they are managed by companies and limit housing availability to residents. 

According to Riviera Radio, Nice aims to reduce the number of Airbnbs in Nice by 50% and impose quotas by district.

Nice and Cannes join the growing list of popular tourist destinations restricting cruise ships to address overtourism—most notably Venice, which voted to ban cruise ships from its city center in 2017. Italy enforced the Venice cruise ship ban in 2021.