Through the years, as more and more people have discovered the joys of travel, select cities around the world have tried to reign in what they view as overtourism. They usually cite overcrowding, pollution, crime, and various other problems due to “too many people.”
- Cities in Japan, Spain and Italy, among others, have either considered, begun, or plan to begin measures to help decrease the number of tourists who visit each year.
As cruising has increased in popularity, port cities and towns that historically accepted cruise ships have also begun to second-guess their decisions:
- In November 2020, the citizens of Key West voted to have limits on cruise ships that called on their port. A Florida senator attempted to overturn their decision, but there were questions about the constitutionality of using a general law to achieve a local purpose, so the bill died. As of this writing, Key West generally only has 1 cruise ship per day docked at Mallory Square (although a private dock sometimes has one too, which remains a bone of contention in the city).
- Amsterdam is cutting how many cruise ships can dock within city limits, among other new and upcoming rules.
Juneau felt it, too
Another city that has felt pressured by overtourism is Juneau, Alaska. It has a population of just 32,000 but received 1.65 million cruise ship visitors during their “cruise ship season” of April through October 2023 – a 23% increase since pre-pandemic days.
On peak days during “season,” Juneau can see up to 20,000 cruise ship passengers who look forward to seeing the local glaciers and wilderness. Nestled in Alaska’s rugged panhandle, the city is a prime destination for whale watching and glacier tours, accessible only by boat or plane.
Me photobombing Mendelhall Glacier in 2011
Recent agreement
In June of this year, an agreement between Juneau and Cruise Lines International Association in Alaska (CLIA) was finalized. The agreement would limit the number of daily cruise passengers who can arrive in Juneau. The caps, which would begin in 2026, would be 12,000 passengers on Saturdays and 16,000 passengers on Sundays through Fridays.
However, 12,000 visitors per day was still too much for some Juneau citizens who wanted even more elbow room. They successfully began a petition that would ban cruise ships entirely on Saturdays and on Independence Day. The bill was called “Ship Free Saturday,” and it was included on a recent municipal election ballot. It asked voters whether cruise ships carrying more than 250 guests should be prohibited from calling at the destination on Saturday and the Independence Day holiday.
Karla Hart, a Juneau resident who spearheaded the “Ship-Free Saturdays” initiative, was quoted in the New York Times about the initiative. “We are all paying for the profits these businesses are making,” she said, “with our physical and mental health, with our time spent in traffic, with displacement and fuel spent to get beyond the reach of the ever-spreading impacts of cruise shore excursions.”
The vote
The rule was put to a vote on October 1st and the outcome was certified by the City & Borough of Juneau on October 15. Of the 28,113 residents eligible to vote, 10,880 had voted, with 4,196 in favor of Ship-Free Saturdays and 6,575 against.
So cruise ships operating Alaska itineraries can continue to call at Juneau on Saturdays and on the July 4 holiday.
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean and Goldbelt Incorporated, the urban Alaska Native, for-profit corporation of Juneau, announced the next day that they plan to open a new port in Juneau, further away from Downtown. They claim this will help disperse foot traffic in the city’s downtown area.
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3 comments
Overtourism/hypertourism degrade the quality of a location for both locals and tourists. Cruise ships are also wreaking havoc in some of the Greek islands.
I can fully understand. We just ended a cruise today from Trieste Italy (since Venice banned cruise ships) to Athens. No problem in larger cities (like Athens) or when only 1 boat in port (Split, Ravenna, etc) but Santorini and Mykonos each had 4-5 ships the days we were there and it was so crowded you could barely move. We hated it and got away from the worst of the crowds. I realize many make money off the cruise ships but has to be a miserable experience but many locals. There has to be a balance between access and over crowding. I have no problem with whatever local governments decide since it is their city and we are just visitors. BTW at least we usually ate lunch at a local restaurant and bought items. Many of the cheap cruise passengers rushed back to the ship at lunch (since it was “free) and didn’t buy much of anything so they contributed NOTHING to the local economy.
Some of it makes sense. But stop acting like you own the land. You only live there.