Bruge To Limit The Number Of Ships Visiting!

Bruges is one of the most popular European ports of call but could recent changes see this beautiful city removed from cruise Itineraries?

It’s estimated 8.3 million tourists visited the city last year an increase of nearly 900,000 compared to 2017.

This means at times tourists can outnumber local resident by 3:1 and In order to control the influx of tourists the city is taking steps to limit the number of visitors.

The port of Zeebrugge can hold up five cruise ships at any one time. The new proposals are hoping to limit this to just one or two and they will be encouraged to visit on weekdays instead of the weekend.

Current Major Dirk De Fauw said in a statement “But we have to aim for quality tourism, people who stay here for a few days, eat well, visit museums. Not the large crowds that are taken here by bus for three hours and then return to their cruise ship.”

I can understand the reasoning behind the changes. Bruges is a beautiful Historic city and understandably the locals are keen to keep it that way.  Limiting the number of ships visiting at one time sounds reasonable to me and I’m just happy not to be losing the port altogether. I’ve had many a great cruise there over the years and hope to continue to do so.