Not everyone wants curbs on cruising, however. Opponents have set up Protect Juneau’s Future, a grassroots coalition of residents, businesses and other interested parties. One of them is Juneau Chamber of Commerce president Laura McDonnell, who believes ship-free Saturdays would be detrimental to the city’s economy. She said her own business, Caribou Crossings, made 98 per cent of its annual revenue during the summer cruise season.
Protect Juneau’s Future says there are already seven Saturdays without cruise ship visits during the season, with more than half of Saturdays year-round being ship-free. It also estimates that Saturday cruise passengers are expected to bring in nearly $32 million in direct spending to Juneau’s economy next year, a sum that will be lost if Saturday calls are axed.
“Cruise tourism impacts every single sector of Juneau’s economy,” says its website. “Eliminating cruise ship calls every week from an already limited season would create ramifications for the entire community, especially small family-owned businesses.”
One of the group’s supporters, Captain Dan Blanchard, owner and chief executive of UnCruise Adventures, told Telegraph Travel he felt current initiatives ensured the city’s tourism industry remained sustainable while benefitting the community.
“We need not go crazy here,” he cautioned. “We need to support the process by sticking with the common-sense regulations and voluntary agreements that help to strike a balance between the need for viable business and preserving the Alaska I love.”
Five other destinations pushing back against cruise shipsVenice
The first and most famous city that started protests against cruise ships with its No Grandi Navi (no big ships) campaign that succeeded in banning vessels larger than 25,000 tons from the city. They now dock at alternative ports including Marghera, Ravenna and Trieste.
Amsterdam
The Dutch city hit the headlines recently as it announced that from 2026, a maximum of 100 ocean cruise ships annually would be able to dock in the city. Furthermore, it reiterated plans to relocate the cruise terminal outside the city by 2035. Rotterdam is seen as the main alternative.
Bar Harbor, Maine
Disgruntled locals of the quaint New England town voted to limit cruise visitors to 1,000 a day. The restriction came into partial effect this summer as pre-existing cruise ship reservations were honoured, but will be fully implemented in 2025. Alternative stops include New York, Boston, Portland in Maine and the Canadian city of St John in New Brunswick.
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Publish date : 2024-07-21 03:30:00
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