JUNEAU, Alaska — A brand new settlement between Alaska’s capital metropolis and main cruise traces seeks to cap the every day variety of cruise ship passengers arriving in Juneau beginning in 2026, although a outstanding critic of the cruise trade mentioned Tuesday the deliberate limits don’t do sufficient.
The settlement, finalized late final week, seeks a every day restrict of 16,000 cruise passengers Sundays by Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays. Nevertheless, officers mentioned that does not essentially imply there might be that many individuals day by day.
Cruise passengers numbers ramped up quickly after two pandemic-stunted years, hitting a document of greater than 1.6 million passengers in Juneau final yr. That is precipitated rigidity between companies that depend on tourism and residents who’re fed up with elevated site visitors, busy trails and the hum of helicopters ferrying guests to glaciers.
Cruise seasons even have gotten longer, with the primary boat this yr arriving in Juneau in early April and the final set to reach in late October. On peak days prior to now, passenger numbers have totaled about two-thirds of Juneau’s inhabitants of roughly 32,000 folks.
A every day restrict of 5 giant ships took impact with the present season, as a part of a separate settlement signed final yr.
Alexandra Pierce, Juneau’s customer trade director, mentioned Tuesday that the purpose with the present settlement is to carry cruise passenger numbers roughly regular, within the 1.6 million vary.
“The thought is that the settlement buys everyone time not solely to see whether it is sustainable but additionally to construct the infrastructure that may assist it really feel extra sustainable,” she mentioned.
Pierce mentioned she expects plenty of tasks might be accomplished within the subsequent 5 years “that may assist our present numbers really feel much less impactful.” She cited plans for a gondola on the city-owned ski space, updates to the downtown sea stroll and elevated customer capability on the in style Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Space.
The settlement, which was signed by town supervisor and main cruise line executives, additionally requires yearly conferences to “evaluate classes realized, to evaluate and optimize the following season’s operations, and align on neighborhood and trade parameters, targets, and alternatives.”
Pierce mentioned metropolis leaders are “making an attempt to stability the wants of our residents, the wants of our financial system, the wants of future alternatives for folks to remain in our neighborhood.”
Karla Hart, a longtime critic of the trade, is skeptical of the brand new settlement, saying it would not do sufficient to handle considerations many residents have that present tourism ranges are unsustainable.
“It appears like we’re simply getting led alongside once more, and enlargement will proceed and extra time will cross” and impacts will proceed, she mentioned.
Hart helps push a proposed native poll initiative that might institute “ship free Saturdays,” with no cruise ships with a capability of a minimum of 250 passengers allowed to cease in Juneau on Saturdays or on July 4. The signature-review course of for the proposed measure is underway. If the measure is licensed, it might seem on the October poll.
Renée Limoge Reeve, vp of presidency and neighborhood relations for Cruise Traces Worldwide Affiliation Alaska, a commerce group, mentioned initiatives “take away the chance for collaboration and dialogue, and I feel that that leaves so much to be desired.”
She mentioned the agreements with Juneau are the primary such agreements the trade has signed in Alaska and underscore the cruise traces’ dedication “to being good companions within the communities that we go to.” Juneau and different southeast Alaska communities are in style stops on cruises that depart from Seattle or Vancouver. The much-smaller neighborhood of Sitka additionally has been grappling with the controversy over tourism numbers.
Reeve and Pierce additionally participated Tuesday in a Higher Juneau Chamber of Commerce information convention to debate the settlement.