An Alaskan tourist spot will vote on whether to ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break

Juneau, Alaska – Each year, a crowd of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital on cruise ships to see wonders like the Rapidly shrinking Mendenhall Glacier. Now, long-standing tensions related to Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head due to a new ballot initiative that aims to give residents respite from the influx.

A measure that would prohibit cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays has qualified for a citywide vote on Oct. 1, setting the stage for a debate over how much tourism is too much in a city that is experiencing it firsthand. the impacts of climate change. The measure would also ban ships on July 4, the day local residents flock to a parade downtown.

The “shipless Saturdays” initiative that was qualified this week will go to voters unless the local Assembly approves a similar measure by August 15, which is seen as unlikely.

Juneau, accessible only by water or air, is home to the Mendenhall Glacier, a major attraction for cruise passengers who arrive on multi-deck ships that tower over parts of the city’s modest downtown skyline. Many residents of this city of about 32,000 are concerned about increased traffic, congested trails and the frequent drone of helicopters ferrying visitors to Mendenhall and other glaciers.

Deborah Craig, who has lived in Juneau for decades, supports Shipless Saturdays. Craig, who lives across the canal from where the ships dock, often hears the morning fog horns and broadcasts announcements made to passengers that are audible across the water.

The current “overwhelming” number of visitors takes away from what residents love so much about Juneau, she said.

“It’s about preserving the lifestyle that keeps us in Juneau, which involves clean air, clean water, a pristine environment and easy access to trails, easy access to water sports and nature,” she said of the initiative.

“There’s a perception that some people don’t take kindly to tourists, and that’s not the case,” Craig said. “It’s a question of volume.

The current cruise season runs from early April to late October.

Opponents of the initiative say limiting docks will hurt local businesses that rely heavily on tourism and could trigger lawsuits. A voter-approved limit over cruise passenger numbers in Bar Harbor, Maine, another community with a significant tourist economy, was challenged in federal court.

Laura McDonnell, a business leader who owns Caribou Crossings, a gift shop in downtown Juneau, said she makes 98 percent of her annual revenue during the summer.

Tourism is about all “local businesses that depend on cruise passengers and our place in the community,” said McDonnell, who is involved in Protect Juneau’s Future, which opposes the initiative.

Some schools have closed recently due to factors including declining enrollment as the regional economy faces challenges, she said.

“I think as a community we really need to look at what’s at stake for our economy,” she said. “We are not in a position to shrink our economy.”

The cruise industry was responsible for $375 million in direct spending in Juneau in 2023, most of it attributable to passenger spending, according to a report prepared for the city by McKinley Research Group LLC.

After a two-year pandemic pause, the number of cruise passengers has increased sharply in Juneau, reaching a record of more than 1.6 million in 2023. Under this year’s schedule, September 21 will be the first day since the start of May without large ships in the city.

The tourism debate is polarizing and the city has been trying to find a middle ground, said Alexandra Pierce, director of Juneau’s visitors industry. But she noted that a regional solution is also needed.

If the Juneau initiative passes, it will impact other smaller communities in Southeast Alaska because ships, typically on voyages originating in Seattle or Vancouver, Canada, will have to go somewhere if they cannot dock in Juneau on Saturdays. she said.

Some residents of Sitka, south of Juneau, are in the early stages of trying to limit cruise visits to the small island community, which sits near a volcano.

Juneau and major cruise lines, including Carnival Corp., Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Group, agreed to a limit of five large ships per day, which took effect this year. They most recently signed a pactcoming into force in 2026, targeting a daily limit of 16,000 cruise passengers from Sunday to Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays.

Pierce said the overall goal is to keep total cruise passenger visitation around 1.6 million and balance the daily number of visitors, which can reach about 18,000 on the busiest days and feel “a little suffocating.” state port.

Several projects in Juneau are expected to help make the number of existing cruises seem less impactful. That includes plans for a gondola at the city-owned ski area and increasing visitor capacity at the Mendenhall Glacier recreation area, she said.

Renée Limoge Reeve, vice president of government and community relations for the trade group Cruise Lines International Association Alaska, said the agreements signed with the city were the first of their kind in Alaska.

The best strategy is “direct and ongoing dialogue with local communities” and working together in a way that also provides a predictable source of income for local businesses, she said.

Protect Juneau’s Future, led by local business leaders, said the success of the ballot measure would mean a loss of sales tax revenue and millions of dollars in direct spending by cruise passengers. The group was confident that voters would reject the measure, its steering committee said in a statement.

Karla Hart, a sponsor of the initiative and a frequent critic of the cruise industry, said the threat of litigation has prevented communities from taking steps to limit the number of cruises in the past. She was encouraged by the legal victories this year in the ongoing fight over the measure passed in Bar Harbor, a popular destination near Acadia National Park in Maine.

She believes Juneau’s initiative will pass.

“Every person who will vote has a lived experience and knowledge of how the cruise industry impacts their lives,” she said.