Since the year 2021, the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis, the Hyères Town Hall, the Port-Cros National Park, the public service delegate of the Golden Islands desert and all private boatmen, have decided to regulate together access to the island of Porquerolles, during periods of high tourist pressure.
The objective: to maintain a quality tourist experience and contribute to the protection of the environment. This regulation is renewed for the third year, this summer 2023.
Preserving the experience of the Golden Islands – Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Le Levant – territory of the Port Cros National Park
Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Le Levant are among the most beautiful French Mediterranean islands. With their coastal fringes, they constitute the Port Cros National Park. In order to contain the flow of visitors during “tourist peaks”, the implementation of an innovative regulation system has become a necessity in 2021. The system called “Charter of Boatmen” is unanimously accepted by the players socio-economic and in charge of environmental protection and guarantees visitors a peaceful island experience.
Limit to 6,000 passengers the number of people disembarking per day in Porquerolles in July-August
The Charter of the Boatmen limits to 6000 passengers per day the number of people who can disembark on the most beautiful and best known of the islands of the most touristic department of France: Porquerolles, in the Var, in the town of Hyères – Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée . The Charter of Boatmen is a device by which the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis limits by contract the number of passengers using the public maritime transport service while at the same time private boatmen regulate themselves in summer. The greatest effort is provided by the public operator.
Historically, peak attendance occurred on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the summer period. The regulation makes it possible to postpone excess visits to other days of the week: it is anticipated that for the 2023 season the postponement will mainly be directed to Mondays while Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays would remain less popular days.
Visits are also possible in all seasons: who has never dreamed of enjoying Porquerolles outside of summer? The pleasures there are very varied all year round between the beaches and the creeks, the sea and its seabed, the forests and the vineyards, the hamlet and its lively central square, its restaurants and hotels, a preserved environment on land and in sea, its forts and batteries or the visit of exceptional cultural sites…
It should be noted that the private boatmen only sail during tourist periods, while the public delegate ensures territorial continuity towards the Golden Islands, Porquerolles – Port Cros – Le Levant, throughout the year. In terms of regulating access to the island, everything here is a matter of maintaining a balance.
In 2023, the Boatmen’s Charter brings together 10 passenger ship companies and 4 Pleasure Craft for Commercial Use (NUC) which declare, in accordance with the specific police regulations of the port of Porquerolles, from October of the previous year , the scheduled services they plan to market over the next year. This is followed by collective work to prepare for the tourist season and verification that the attendance targets for Porquerolles have not been exceeded.
Companies or NUCs that have not declared a regular service to Porquerolles in advance are found to be illegal and punishable. Commercial vessels operating within the perimeter of the Port-Cros National Park must seek the necessary authorizations from the latter.
In practice
The passenger ship companies or NUC declare in advance the services they plan for the following season;
Users can book their passage on the Internet on the company in charge of public transport and on most private ships. They benefit from information on the reservation rate and can choose the best day of visit for an optimized island experience;
The public transport company and private boatmen direct users to the days and time slots still available;
The Hyères Metropolitan Tourist Office relays this information to users;
In season, each company or NUC declares the number of passengers embarked and disembarked at each “platform touchdown”;
The port agents establish the statistics daily and ensure compliance with the tonnage of 6,000 passengers maximum per day on the island of Porquerolles;
Port agents check ships in ports that seem to deviate from these rules and report them to the authorities;
State agents at sea and the Port-Cros National Park control ships at sea;
On land, near beaches and sites accessible by sea, outside ports, the Municipal Police controls landings prohibited by decree.
The Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis and the Port Cros National Park inspire other territories
On the strength of this successful collaborative work, the Port-Cros National Park and the TPM Metropolis, carry this model outside our Mediterranean territory during seminars on hyper-frequentation.
This device seems to arouse the interest of other communities such as some Breton islands which could draw inspiration from the Boatmen’s Charter. Article 231 of the Climate and Resilience law introduced into the environmental code (art. L 360-1), the possibility for a municipality to justify an order limiting over-frequentation.
The partners of the Boatmen’s Charter in 2023:
The State at Sea
The Toulon Provence Méditerranée metropolis, initiator of the Boatmen’s Charter
The City of Hyères
Port-Cros National Park
Boatmen, public (TLV) and private.
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