Tourism
RSSCruise industry, Denali visitor economy, aurora tourism, guided hunting/fishing tourism, head tax and bed tax fights
Juneau's casino opened on shifting ground and now faces suits on two fronts
Juneau's tribal casino opened through a federal opening since rescinded, and now faces the state, a family lawsuit and doubt about whether it's even legal.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A Whittier man trying to sell booze on a family glacier-tour boat
A Whittier man is fighting a plan to serve alcohol on the family Ptarmigan glacier-tour boat, which has run dry for decades. The Assembly decides by Aug. 15.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
Tlingit & Haida leaders ask tourists to stop using totem poles as social media props
Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian leaders are asking tourists to stop using totem poles as social media backdrops, saying the carved poles hold sacred stories and ancestors, not Instagram props.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Glacial outburst flood destroys 100 feet of Fish Creek bear platform near Hyder
A glacial outburst flood destroyed over 100 feet of the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site platform near Hyder, forcing the Forest Service to close the bear and salmon viewing facility.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Juneau's fifth cruise dock clears a federal hurdle
Juneau's contested fifth cruise dock cleared another hurdle: a federal permit for the pile-driving that will disturb sea lions in Gastineau Channel.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
Juneau Assembly to take up ordinance making 5-ship cruise limit enforceable law
Juneau Assembly will introduce an ordinance July 27 to make the five-large-cruise-ship-per-day limit a binding municipal law instead of a voluntary agreement.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut prompts operator inquiry at Juneau task force
A whale watching incident in Coghlan Cut was added as an unscheduled item to Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force meeting Thursday, prompting task force member Kirby Day to request more information on which operators use the waterway through TBMP and SEAWWA. No formal action was taken.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Cruise ships come to St. Paul as the island rebuilds after the crab crash
Five cruise ships are headed to St. Paul Island as the Unangax̂ community seeks new footing after its snow crab economy collapsed, leaving a $2.7M hole.
by Alaska News2w ago1 min readAI
Roald Amundsen brings 530 passengers to Kodiak on August 2
Cruise ship Roald Amundsen docks in Kodiak on August 2 with 530 passengers for a nine-hour port call.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Hoonah just locked in 15 years of Disney ships
A Tlingit village of under a thousand people just guaranteed itself 15 years of Disney cruise ships — one a week through 2041.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago1 min readAI
Allen Marine hiring 21 positions as Juneau gears up for cruise season
Allen Marine posted 21 jobs in Juneau across vessel operations, hospitality, and shore support ahead of cruise season, from entry-level deckhand roles to lodge manager and executive chef positions.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau tourism task force faces a fork: which planning model fits the capital?
Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force will choose July 16 among three tourism planning models, each with different timelines and budgets ranging from seven to 18 months.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau clerk certifies 1% seasonal sales tax petition, Assembly has 45 days to act
Juneau citizens got a 1% seasonal sales tax to the brink of the ballot. The Assembly has 45 days to pass it or let voters do it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Denali proposes a daily vehicle cap on its previously restricted road
Denali wants to swap its seasonal vehicle cap for a daily one — 160 a day on the restricted road. Comment by Friday if you've got thoughts.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Eaglecrest interviews GM finalist, holds Goldbelt conversation amid $1.9M deficit
Eaglecrest interviewed its sole general manager finalist and met with potential partner Goldbelt as the ski area faces a $1.9 million deficit and pressure to balance its budget by November.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Sitka sets new ground rules for its cruise-season crush
Up to 7,000 cruise passengers a day hit a town of 8,000 — so Sitka rolled out new (voluntary) ground rules to keep the visitor boom from wearing on the people who live there.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
DNR moves to lease four acres near Valdez to adventure tourism operator Black Ops Valdez
DNR is leasing four acres near Valdez to Black Ops Valdez for heli-skiing and backcountry tours, but the deal faces a competitive bidding process if the public objects during the comment period.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago2 min readAI
Juneau moves to extend its seawalk to the farthest cruise dock
Juneau's spent 20 years building a waterfront path it still can't finish. Now it wants the stretch to the far cruise dock. Mind the gap.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau tourism task force to vote Aug. 20 on downtown crowding fixes
Juneau's Visitor Industry Task Force votes Aug. 20 on downtown crowding fixes including a redesigned roundabout and expanded crossing guards.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2h ago2 min readAI
Juneau task force takes up cruise cap criteria Thursday, with dock pressure looming
Juneau's task force meets Thursday to draft criteria for future cruise passenger cap changes, with a potential dock expansion by Goldbelt poised to test those rules.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
A renewed federal fund to fix public lands could land hardest in Alaska
Alaska has more parkland than any state. A House panel advanced a renewed fund to chip at a $46B repair backlog — after a scrap over a foreign-tourist fee.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau weighs what kind of cruise town it wants to be
Juneau's tourism task force is drafting criteria for whether its cruise-ship limits should ever change — with Goldbelt's proposed new docks adding pressure to the question.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Juneau isn't changing its cruise caps — it's deciding how to decide
Juneau's tourism task force isn't touching its cruise ship limits yet — it's building the criteria future officials would use to change them, with new docks looming as the pressure point.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A Hoonah Corporation Quietly Builds a Cruise Empire
Huna Totem Corporation, the Alaska Native village corporation for Hoonah, is expanding its cruise business by adding its own vessels to a fleet that already operates ports across Southeast Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Juneau Assembly Finance Committee cuts Travel Juneau budget in 5-4 vote
Finance Committee cuts Travel Juneau marketing budget by 400,000 dollars, dropping funding 31 percent to close city deficit. • Executive director warns cut will remove Juneau from visitor marketplace for two to three years. • Full Assembly votes on budget June 8, must decide by June 15.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Kodiak prepares for 2,578 cruise passengers in one week
Two cruise ships will bring 2,578 passengers to Kodiak in late June, with Crystal Symphony docking June 21 and Noordam on June 23, each staying nine hours while local tourism organizes downtown welcome events and vendor markets.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Fairbanks Seeks $3.5M in State Funding to Host 2028 Arctic Winter Games
Fairbanks organizers are pursuing state funding to host the 2028 Arctic Winter Games after quickly raising initial funds, with support from local officials and the potential for significant economic impact.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min readAIHuna Totem signs Juneau tideland lease for Oak Landing cruise dock
Huna Totem Corporation signed a tideland lease with Juneau in April for Oak Landing, a fifth downtown cruise dock expected to open in 2028 and reduce the 95 ships currently forced to anchor each summer.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAIA fin whale's death near Seward reopens Alaska's vessel-speed debate
A pregnant fin whale that died of a vessel strike was found on a Royal Caribbean ship's bow near Seward. Investigators haven't said which vessel struck it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Foreign-visitor park fee survives a House vote, with stakes for Alaska
A House panel kept a $100 surcharge on foreign park visitors — $400 for a family of four. Alaska's gateway towns, which live on summer tourists, are watching.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Southeast Alaska ports share a pattern: residents want stable or reduced cruise volumes
Residents across six Southeast Alaska cruise ports say tourism helps the economy but has limits, and most want stable or fewer visitors, not growth.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago3 min readAI