Measures in the new code include a flat $250 fee for tour permit applications, a concrete definition of “expanded tour” for the purpose of public hearing requirements and an enforcement mechanism for customer-reporting requirements. The code also preserves many aspects of the original code like the exemptions for multi-day tours and guided hunting trips through a new definition of “commercial tour” and the public hearing requirement for new tour permit applications.
The public hearing requirement remains a unique aspect of Haines tourism code. According to Chilkat Valley News reporting in 2018, Haines was the only community in Southeast Alaska to require a public hearing and assembly approval for a commercial tour permit.
The Haines tourism code was originally created in the early 2000s in response to increases in cruise ship visits.
The code was designed to give the public a voice in the process, to improve public safety by ensuring operators met certain safety and insurance standards, and to protect legitimate tour businesses from encroachment by illegal operations, said Dan Egolf, a member of the advisory group charged with creating recommendations for the original code, in an interview with the CVN this winter.
Assembly member Gabe Thomas, who regularly attended the Tourism Advisory Board meetings where the current code revisions were discussed, said keeping the public hearing requirement was an important part of preserving the public’s voice. Both the board and borough staff put a lot of effort into the revisions, he said. That doesn’t mean the revisions are perfect, but perfect was never achievable, he said.
The new tourism code is the result of a multi-year revision process. Last year, the assembly approved temporary code changes that would have sunset at the end of the month if the new tourism code had not been approved.