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Locals in Venice are planning a party to celebrate the announcement that two cruise lines will not be stopping off in the city for the rest of 2020.
Italian lines MSC Crociere and Costa Crociere both confirmed they would drop Venice from their itineraries in favour of Trieste or Genoa when cruising restarts, reports The Guardian.
The two cities are thought to offer a safer alternative when it comes to managing passenger flow under the new coronavirus regulations.
Most other cruise lines have halted operations in the wake of the pandemic, with many not anticipating a return to service until 2021.
The news was welcomed by activists from No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships), which has long protested against the disruption caused by the hundreds of liners that dock in the city each year, dropping off more than a million passengers in total.
The group said in response to the move: “We said it, we promised it, and this is how it will be: no ship will enter the lagoon for the entire season.”
A celebratory bash is planned for Friday night on San Giorgio island.
Protesters argue that the many large liners that stop off in Venice cause pollution and damage the lagoon, as well as further aggravating the problem of overtourism.
The situation was exacerbated even further when, in June 2019, an MSC cruise ship crashed into a dock and a small tourist boat on one of Venice’s busiest canals, injuring four people.
In response, Italian transport minister Danilo Toninelli proposed that giant cruise ships be diverted from Venice’s centre, docking instead at other nearby ports – although all of them still within the Venetian lagoon.
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Created with Sketch.
1/16
Gondoliers wait for customers in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
2/16
Gondoliers wait for customers in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
3/16
A man wearing a protective mask walks past the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
4/16
A gondolier on the Grand Canal as the sun sets in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
5/16
A local pulls a trolley as she leaves a street food market in Venice, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. A U.S. government advisory urging Americans to reconsider travel to Italy due to the spread of a new virus is the "final blow" to the nation's tourism industry, the head of Italy's hotel federation said Saturday. Venice, which was nearing recovery in the Carnival season following a tourist lull after record flooding in November, saw bookings drop immediately after regional officials canceled the final two days of celebrations this week, unprecedented in modern times.
AP
6/16
Locals wait for a mass at the barely empty San Salvador church in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. A coughing Pope Francis told Italy, pilgrims gathered for the traditional Sunday blessing that he is canceling his participation at a week-long spiritual retreat in the Roman countryside because of a cold. It is the first time in his seven-year papacy that he has missed the spiritual exercises that he initiated early in his pontificate to mark the start of each Lenten season.
AP
7/16
Tourists wearing protective masks take photographs in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks as the country's confirmed cases surpassed 1,000.
AP
8/16
Tourists wearing protective masks look at their smartphones as they have a break at the St. Mark's square in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks as the country's confirmed cases surpassed 1,000.
AP
9/16
A couple stand at the Rialto bridge during a rainy day in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks as the country's confirmed cases surpassed 1,000.
AP
10/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
11/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
Reuters
12/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
13/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
14/16
An empty water bus after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
15/16
Tourists shelter against the rain with umbrellas as they walk in the empty St. Mark's Square during a rainy day in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
AP
16/16
Gondolas are parked on a rainy day in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
AP
1/16
Gondoliers wait for customers in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
2/16
Gondoliers wait for customers in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
3/16
A man wearing a protective mask walks past the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
4/16
A gondolier on the Grand Canal as the sun sets in Venice, Italy, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Authorities in Italy decided to re-open schools and museums in some of the areas less hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak in the country which has the most cases outside of Asia, as Italians on Friday yearned for a return to normal life even amid fears that the outbreak could plunge the country's economy into recession.
AP
5/16
A local pulls a trolley as she leaves a street food market in Venice, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. A U.S. government advisory urging Americans to reconsider travel to Italy due to the spread of a new virus is the "final blow" to the nation's tourism industry, the head of Italy's hotel federation said Saturday. Venice, which was nearing recovery in the Carnival season following a tourist lull after record flooding in November, saw bookings drop immediately after regional officials canceled the final two days of celebrations this week, unprecedented in modern times.
AP
6/16
Locals wait for a mass at the barely empty San Salvador church in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. A coughing Pope Francis told Italy, pilgrims gathered for the traditional Sunday blessing that he is canceling his participation at a week-long spiritual retreat in the Roman countryside because of a cold. It is the first time in his seven-year papacy that he has missed the spiritual exercises that he initiated early in his pontificate to mark the start of each Lenten season.
AP
7/16
Tourists wearing protective masks take photographs in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks as the country's confirmed cases surpassed 1,000.
AP
8/16
Tourists wearing protective masks look at their smartphones as they have a break at the St. Mark's square in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks as the country's confirmed cases surpassed 1,000.
AP
9/16
A couple stand at the Rialto bridge during a rainy day in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks as the country's confirmed cases surpassed 1,000.
AP
10/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
11/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
Reuters
12/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
13/16
An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
14/16
An empty water bus after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020.
REUTERS
15/16
Tourists shelter against the rain with umbrellas as they walk in the empty St. Mark's Square during a rainy day in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
AP
16/16
Gondolas are parked on a rainy day in Venice, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Italian tourism officials are worrying a new virus could do more damage to their industry than the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
AP
However, concrete steps have yet to be taken.
The Foreign Office is currently advising UK travellers against all cruise ship travel indefinitely, barring river cruises.