I have been a tourist, a host to tourists and I am now a tourism academic. I would not recommend most cruises in their current form.

The image of the out-of-control MSC Opera crashing into a smaller tour boat and the dock in Venice seems to be a metaphor for an industry about to crash against the limits of goodwill from the port destinations that receive them.

From classical sites such as Venice, Dubrovnik and Barcelona, to the hot new attractions of Iceland, Komodo National Park of Indonesia and even Antarctica, the cruise tourism industry is in the spotlight.

Cruise ships have been getting a bad rap well before the MSC Opera was captured crashing into Venice's San Basilio dock on Sunday.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 1 m Bystanders run in panic as towering ship bears down on them

The costs of cruise tourism are apparent in the case of Venice.

In fact, cruise ship access to Venice has roused local anger and there were already plans underway to move them away from the central canals. Their hulking presence overwhelms the beautiful medieval city as they arrive to disgorge thousands of passengers for short day visits.

The cruise ship tourism model brings Venice few benefits. ( Reuters: Manuel Silvestri )

The cruise ship model of tourism brings Venice a good deal of negative impacts in terms of crowding and pressure on fragile infrastructure. It also brings few positive economic impact as such visitors actually spend little money in the local economy.

Venice risks its Unesco World Heritage listing if it continues to allow huge cruise ships to pass Piazza San Marco and dwarf its romantic charm. Both the cruise lines and the tourists will not be thrilled with the proposal to dock the cruise ships further away and to bus the excursionists to the main sites.

Regardless, we are talking about a sector with stellar growth rates.

Why cruising is popular

In 2017, 25.8 million people globally went on a cruise. Demand has grown by 20.5 per cent over the past five years, making it one of the fastest growing forms of mass tourism.

Cruise tourism caters for all incomes from the expensive, luxury end of the market to low-income wage-earners who save up for such a holiday.

Cruising has specific attractions as a tourism experience.

For tourists who are less experienced or less adventuresome, cruise ships offer a safe and known environment, with the majority of the holiday onboard and only brief shore excursions in a limited number of ports.

The all-inclusive model means that most food, beverage and entertainment costs are paid in advance so that those on limited holiday budgets can be free from worry.

The variety of experiences, entertainment and activities means the cruise ship itself is becoming the attraction. Contemporary cruise ships are featuring adrenaline adventures, including go kart racing and water parks.

Some cruise itineraries make it possible for tourists to see amazing marine environments that are best seen this way, including Antarctica, the fjords of Norway and the Caribbean Islands.

The cruise ship Harmony of the Seas has a 1,400-seat auditorium. ( Reuters: Stephane Mahe )

Do destinations benefit?

But the cruise tourism sector has received extensive criticism for their negative impacts on destinations.

The cruise ship industry is dominated by large multinational corporations, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and MSC Cruise Lines.

These powerful companies are able to dictate terms of access to ports and their all-inclusive model means that too little tourist spending reaches the ports that receive them.

There is a tendency to build ever-larger cruise ships and this is exacerbating problems.

In 2016, Harmony of the Seas was launched in Southampton at 16 stories high and able to host 6,780 passengers and 2,100 crew.

One marine expert stated: "These ships burn as much fuel as whole towns. They use a lot more power than container ships and even when they burn low sulphur fuel, it's 100 times worse than road diesel."

These huge capacities only add to the problem of overwhelming walled old cities such as Dubrovnik or small islands such as Cozumel.

Cruise ship visitation also brings negative socio-cultural impacts despite the brief duration of shore visits.

The most pressing issue is the way cruise visitors add to already crowded tourist sites, such as the old city of Dubrovnik and Piazza Marco Square in Venice.

Local residents are angered by such overcrowding and may even be pushed out at peak times and in peak seasons. Transport facilities can be overwhelmed and make an urban work commute difficult.

What about the crew, and the environment?

Then there is the issue of low wages, long hours, precarity and exploitation of cruise ship labour that does little to commend cruise lines as good corporate citizens.

Many developing countries, such as the Philippines, provide the labour force to these cruise ships and rely on the remittance funds these workers send back. All the while having their own ports negatively impacted as ports of call to these very same cruise lines.

However, the weak regulatory environment seems set to change.

Cruise lines are being impacted by new regulations effecting the global marine industries to address dirty fuel by 2020.

But they stand accused of "emissions dodging" rather than paying for more expensive cleaner fuels. Such responses to regulatory changes do little to foster goodwill.

Cruise lines need to act fast to save their corporate legitimacy. Addressing the reality of their negative impacts is unavoidable.

Is there an answer?

Cruise ships seek a low-cost and high-profit model that works to exploit the destinations they call into. This needs to change if the cruise lines want continued access to places such as Venice.

Regulatory authorities need to take aim at the negative environmental impacts of powerful cruise lines and address the efforts to escape regulations through flags of convenience and poor practices such as emissions dodging and skirting maritime safety regulations.

Local authorities need to follow in the footsteps of Venice and start planning to shape the cruise line sector to their needs and ensure it complements local wellbeing and living.

Mega cruise ships should not be passing Piazza San Marco and overwhelming local facilities.

Arguably, large cruise ships do not belong in fragile marine reserves like the waters of Antarctica. These cruise itineraries represent a Sword of Damocles over us for when we might confront a catastrophic oil spill in these pristine waters.

Superliners in Sydney Harbour ( James Morgan: AAP )

Tourists have a role to play

Research your cruise company and choose those with two key attributes: responsible relationships with their port of call destinations and with sound sustainability policies and practices.

Be aware of your ability to also shape your shore visits to deliver maximum economic benefits to the locals with minimal harm.

Cruising is a wonderful way to holiday, but it takes some greater efforts to be assured a warm welcome on shore.

Freya Higgins-Desbiolles is a senior lecturer teaching and researching tourism management at the University of South Australia.