It’s the latest blow to Skagway’s tourism-dependent economy, after the Canadian government announced cruise ships will not be welcome in its waters until 2022.
Tourism
For Sitka tourism businesses, the 2021 season is fraught with uncertainty
The 2021 season has left many in a holding pattern, especially those that rely on the cruise ship industry.
Canada bans cruise ships for a year, taking another Southeast Alaska tourism season off the table
“Since the new year, the tea leaves and the news has been progressively more pessimistic for the return of cruise ships for the summer,” said Juneau City Manager Rorie Watt.
Ketchikan City Council to consider head tax tweak aimed at freeing up port revenue
Ketchikan’s city council is scheduled to take up a proposal to change how it levies its $9 head tax on visiting cruise ship passengers.
Employment data shows double-digit declines across Southeast Alaska
Some Southeast communities lost as many as 4 in 5 hotel, tour and restaurant jobs.
How Juneau’s elected officials can make or break plans for a fifth cruise ship dock
Norwegian Cruise Line has several years of work to do before it can build what could be a fifth dock for big ships in downtown Juneau. City Manager Rorie Watt laid out which steps intersect with city government.
Local voices share Juneau’s lesser-known stories through downtown audio history project
Juneau Voices is meant to tell rich stories about the diverse experiences of local people.
State proposes early-season cruise ship inspections to replace Ocean Ranger program
The state is offering up to $400,000 annually for marine engineers to inspect 30 to 40 ships. It’s a fraction of the $3.4 million Ocean Ranger program, which had marine engineers on more than half of all voyages by large cruise ships.
Alaska’s 2021 cruise season is uncertain, and stimulus checks have run out in Skagway
In Skagway, local officials used CARES Act funds to keep year-round residents from leaving in 2020. But that money has run out, leaving questions about how a town like Skagway another season without tourists.
Former Kotzebue mayor to lead National Park Service’s Native relations program for Alaska
Maija Katak Lukin is Inupiaq and grew up in Kotzebue and the Sisualik fish camp, where she’s spent her life subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering. She says her work balances the land stewardship of her ancestors with more modern federal protections.