Juneau, Alaska, Votes Against Limiting Cruise Ship Numbers

From Venice and Amsterdam to Maine and Key West, popular tourist destinations are taking a hard look at cruise ship traffic and the crowds and environmental pressures they generate.

Among the most recent destinations to consider limiting that traffic is Juneau, Alaska, which has a population of 32,000 and received 1.65 million cruise ship visitors last year. Yesterday, the city released the final results of a recent vote over whether cruise ships should be banned on Saturdays: The proposal was rejected.

Out of the 28,113 residents eligible to vote, 10,880 had voted, with 4,196 in favor of the initiative called “Ship-Free Saturdays” and 6,575 against.

Juneau — the capital of Alaska and the entrance point to the Mendenhall Glacier, a favorite cruise ship excursion — sees as many as 20,000 cruise passengers per day during the high season, which runs from April to October. The initiative was devised to ease overcrowding, but residents and officials who were against the measure cited concerns about the expected negative impact on local businesses.

“The ship pollution and excessive visitor traffic is very real, but banning them for an entire day is not the answer,” said Laura Murray, a resident who voted against the measure. “We need to find a better solution, introducing measures that will protect our environment without hurting the local economy.”

Last year, on Saturdays alone, the cruise industry generated $3.7 million in cruise-related fees and taxes for Juneau, and passengers spent $30 million at local businesses, according to the city government. Protect Juneau’s Future, a coalition of local businesses, travel agents and cruise operators opposed to the initiative, raised more than $350,000 to campaign against it.

Three major cruise lines — Royal Caribbean Group, Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — each contributed $75,000 through their companies and subsidiaries, according to the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

“We believe joint, collaborative, and direct dialogue is the best way to maintain balanced and effective tourism management to ensure long-term economic stability and livelihoods in Juneau,” Cruise Lines International Association, the industry’s trade group, said in a statement.

But Karla Hart, a Juneau resident who spearheaded the “Ship-Free Saturday” initiative, has deeper concerns about the well-being of her community. “We are all paying for the profits these businesses are making,” she…