The record-breaking number of passengers on cruise ships traveled to Juneau last year. The city’s leaders are weighing whether and how to determine a future limit.
In the Juneau Assembly retreat on Saturday, Juneau Tourism Manager Alexandra Pierce stated that this year’s most busy days made the biggest impression on the locals.
“When visitors are worried about their experience in relation to the tourism industry they are concerned about the everyday impacts that they encounter day in, day out” she explained.
Pierce released the initial results of an annual survey that residents annually. The survey this year found that 56% of respondents said the city wasn’t doing enough to handle tourisman increase from 45percent last year. If asked about the potential cruise ship passenger numbers the majority of respondents believed the number ought to be lower.
Pierce stated that there are three types of limitations she believes the cruise industry could accept.
There’s a day-to-day travel limit. Pierce said that the industry does not “love any limits however they’re ok with this debate.”
Both the city of Hong Kong and cruise lines have reached an agreement to allow limit the number of large cruise ships each day beginning next year However, the total amount of passengers will be about the same.
Assemblywoman Alicia Hughes-Skandijs stated that she liked the daily travel limit, but she would also be in favor of negotiations for a seasonal limit.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe that the overall weight of a season is crucial,” she said. “Our slow days aren’t as infrequent than they were have been .”
Another alternative Pierce mentioned that the industry might accept is a cap on the size of ships. A city in the Spanish town in Palma de Mallorca has both only three cruise ships are allowed to visit every day, and only one can accommodate 5,000 or more.
“We do not are equipped in Alaska to build those huge vessels that they see on the Caribbean and Mediterranean However, that’s a possibility that we could think about,” Pierce said.
Another alternative is to plan ships-free days. Pierce noted that the industry seems to be in favor of this choice the least due to how it may impact travel itinerary.
Assembly Member Christine Woll said she’d want to speak with local business owners.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I would like to hear from the tourism industry local to them that is working for the industry,” she said. “If there are no-ship days, do people shut down? Are there people who would like to go to downtown ?”
Pierce stated that plan A is reaching an agreement on cruise ship industry. A regulation from the city government is the plan B.
Some communities have attempted to regulate the industry, but ended up in the courts. The owners of local businesses in Bar Harbor, Maine, filed a lawsuit against the town after residents voted to approve a daily limit of 1,000 people.
Officials from the city of Sitka rejected a petition from a citizen to include a visitor’s cap on the ballot declaring it illegal under the constitution. They refused to grant it another time this week.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Are there any regulatory alternatives that are possible? I would say indeed,” Juneau Municipal Attorney Robert Palmer said. “But the issue is what kind of options is being considered and what mix of options are we considering and how much risk will we take in the event that we must fight it. ?”
The year 2021 was the time Juneau residents Karla Hart introduced a ballot measure to set a maximum size of ship limit as well as no-ship days and hours. It was not able to garner enough signatures to be able to reach voters.
