Remote tourist hotspot takes steps to end cruise ship overtourism

Every year, large numbers of tourists arrive in Alaska’s capital aboard cruise ships to discover the wonders the region has to offer.

Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new ballot initiative aimed at giving residents a break from the influx.

A rule banning cruise ships carrying 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays has been put to a vote, setting the stage for a debate over how much tourism is excessive in a city experiencing the effects of climate change firsthand.

The measure would also ban ships on July 4, when residents flock to a downtown parade.

The “Saturdays Without Ships” initiative, which was approved this week, will go to voters unless the local assembly adopts a similar measure by August 15, which appears unlikely.

Juneau, accessible only by water or air, is home to the Mendenhall Glacier, a major draw for cruise passengers who arrive on multi-story ships that overlook a portion of the modest downtown area. Many residents of this city of about 32,000 worry about increased traffic, crowded trails and the frequent drone of sightseeing helicopters ferrying visitors to the Mendenhall Glacier and other glaciers.

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

The current “overwhelming” number of visitors is diminishing what residents love so much about Juneau, she said.

“It’s about preserving the lifestyle that keeps us in Juneau, which is clean air, clean water, 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 aren’t very welcoming to tourists, but that’s not the case at all,” Craig said. “It’s a volume issue. It’s too many, too many tourists in a short period of time that overwhelm a small community.”

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

Opponents of the initiative say limiting berths will hurt local businesses that rely heavily on tourism and could lead to lawsuits. A voter-approved cruise passenger limit in Bar Harbor, Maine, another community with a large tourism economy, has been challenged in federal court.

Laura McDonnell, business owner of Caribou Crossings, a gift shop in Juneau’s tourist-friendly downtown, said she makes 98 percent of her annual revenue during the summer season.

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

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

“I think as a community we really need to think about the economics,” she said. “We’re not in a position to shrink our economy.”

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

After a two-year pandemic lull, cruise ship numbers have surged in Juneau, reaching a record of more than 1.6 million in 2023. Under this year’s schedule, Sept. 21 will be the first day since early May without major ships in town.

The tourism debate is polarizing, and the city is trying to find common ground, said Alexandra Pierce, Juneau’s tourism industry director. But she stressed a regional solution also needs to be found.

If Juneau’s initiative passes, it will impact other small communities in Southeast Alaska because ships, typically departing from Seattle or Vancouver, Canada, will have to go somewhere if they can’t dock in Juneau on Saturday, she said.

Some residents of Sitka, south of Juneau, are beginning to try to limit cruise ship 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 went into effect this year. More recently, they signed an agreement, set to take effect in 2026, to limit the number of cruise passengers to 16,000 per day Sunday through Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays.

Pierce said the overall goal is to keep the total number of cruise passengers around 1.6 million and balance the daily number of visitors that can climb to about 18,000 on the busiest days and feel “a little stifling.” Juneau has traditionally been the state’s most popular cruise port.

Several projects around Juneau are expected to help mitigate the impact of current cruises. They include plans to install a gondola at the city-owned ski resort and increase 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 “continuous and direct dialogue with local communities” and collaboration that also provides a predictable source of revenue for local businesses, she said.

Protect Juneau’s Future, a nonprofit led by local business leaders, said the referendum measure’s success would result in lost tax revenue and millions of dollars in direct spending for cruise passengers. The group was confident voters would reject the measure, its steering committee said in a statement.

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

She believes the Juneau initiative will be adopted.

“Every person who goes to vote has lived experience and knowledge of the impact of the cruise industry on their lives,” she said.