Alaska sets limit on cruise ship passengers allowed to visit trendy tourist site

Cruise passengers may have to obtain a permit to visit Alaska’s capital, Juneau, according to a new agreement between the city and major cruise lines.
The new agreement, negotiated between the city and Cruise Lines International Association in Alaska (CLIA), finalized last week will limit the daily amount of cruise passengers who can come to Juneau to 16,000 on Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays effective in 2026. The agreement was designed to cap levels of visitors to roughly how it is now.
The measure intends to limit the congestion as well as wear and tear to the city due to high tourist activity.
Juneau’s tourist numbers skyrocketed to a record 1.6 million last year after pandemic-related dips for two years.
Other popular cities have taken similar measures to limit tourists due to their impact on daily life for residents, including Venice, Italy, which became the first city in the world to charge day-trippers a fee for entry on peak days in April.
“The cruise industry is vital to our local economy, and we need to improve our infrastructure and grow our tour capacity to create a great guest experience and reduce impacts on residents,” Juneau Visitor Industry director Alexandra Pierce said in a statement Tuesday.
She added: “With this agreement, we are committing to a cap to manage our busiest days and to meet annually to ensure that our visitor numbers remain sustainable.”
CLIA, the cruise lines association, applauded the measure, calling it “a well-balanced and thoughtful approach to keeping Juneau a great place to live and visit.”
“Ongoing, direct dialogue with local communities is the best way to jointly self-regulate to preserve great resident and visitor experiences while providing a predictable market for the many local businesses that rely on the cruise industry,” CLIA said in part in a statement.
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While tourism is vital to the local economy, it also contributes to quality of life issues, including traffic and noise population, locals say as acnknowledged in the statement.
Cruise seasons have also been extended from early April to late October, offering year-round residents brief reprieve from tourists’ presence.
Additionally, under a separate agreement, only five large ships are permitted a day during the current cruise season.
Pierce confirmed there are other projects in the works, including the installation of a gondola at the city’s ski area, updating its downtown sea walk and expanding capacity for visitors at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area.