This summer’s cruise ship traffic count reached nearly 80,000 visitors, roughly double the average since 2010, and next year’s forecast is expected to surpass this year’s traffic. Many of those ships, however, are scheduled for evening dockings when many local businesses were closed this summer.
The tourist season opened with “cautious optimism” this year after two seasons of pandemic-related precautions that restricted business and tourism operations in Haines, said Steven Auch, Haines tourism director. With ships returning and the reopening of the Canadian border, “there was a great deal of enthusiasm from local businesses for the upcoming season with early reports that suggested this year would rival the lucrative pre-pandemic summer of 2019,” Auch said.
The uptick in tourism brought borough revenue back to pre-pandemic levels. The borough generated $419,944 in sales tax from tourism businesses this summer, up from $172, 669 last summer and $75,651 in 2020 but still below the $469,093 generated in the summer of 2019, even without adjusting for inflation. (Those numbers include sales tax from tour operators, charters, car rentals and transportation, but not shops or restaurants.)
Since 2010, Haines has seen between 40,000 to 54,000 cruise ship passengers each summer. Next summer’s projections are currently 82,000, but numbers could continue to rise as more tourists sign on for next summer.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines recently signed on to port in Haines. The Cruise line is expected to be the largest contributor to future foot traffic, accounting for nearly 50% of the total forecasted cruise visitors next year. The numbers are a significant increase, but the ships will be docking during evening hours, Auch said.
“These vessels will be docking in the evening and despite their huge capacity those evening calls will mean they may not see all numbers. It depends on how many decide to get off the ship and that’s largely due to the number of open businesses and activities available during those hours,” Auch said. “There are many factors at play each season. Next year looks to be the biggest ever but subtracting the evening calls and the total capacity numbers, it becomes difficult to predict what the actual feet on the ground numbers will be. The good news is the numbers are continuing to trend upwards — but will businesses be open?”
Many visitors were frustrated about the lack of restaurants, according to local shop owners. Independent visitors also shared the complaint. A Canadian tourist who was excited to bring family and friends to Haines this summer told the CVN she was disheartened that nothing was open. “It looks really bad for the town and it’s hard to imagine returning next year with so little to do in the afternoons and evenings,” said Jenn Whitman, a regular visitor to Haines from Prince Rupert, British Columbia, who previously considered Haines the “place to be” in Alaska.
Still, other local businesses who managed to weather the storm of the last two years found themselves happily overwhelmed with the summer season and are already making preparations for next year in hopes that the industry continues its upward trend. Tracey Harmon who owns and operates The Frog Lady Fish Company food truck had high expectations, but turnout was well beyond initial projections. “It was a great season, almost too great,” said Harmon. “The floodgates of tourism opened, but we just couldn’t keep up.”
Harmon, who started the business with partner Gabe Thomas last year, was flying solo without any employees, ran out of supplies. “There were times when I knew a ship was in, but I just couldn’t serve them all.” Although businesses in the community were told to expect high tourist numbers, “no one anticipated this,” said Harmon, who was executive director for the Haines Chamber of Commerce in the spring but stepped down to focus on her business. “I wanted to put my energy into this instead of having to wear two hats. I’m thrilled to have the extra time with my kids again. The summer is a five-month season and it’s a lot to keep up with. I’m happy to get to ‘mom’ it this winter,” said Harmon.
Andrea Nelson, who runs Ampersand with Amelia Nash, reported their strongest year. “It was very tiring, which is a positive problem to have, but we were definitely out of shape,” Nelson said of the visitor traffic.
Rhonda Hinson of Alaska Rod’s described business this summer as “incredible” and said it was their most lucrative season after 12 years in operation.
“We had the best three days we’ve ever had in business just this year. We broke our sales record one day, then again, the next day and then beat that record just a week later.” said Hinson. Rod’s, which maintains a gallery of more than one-hundred artists from Haines and the Yukon, was one of the few businesses that remained open for the evening ships.
Hinson said many tourists and tourist operators expressed frustration that there were limited venues open during those hours. “We heard constant complaints from visitors, only the bars and us were open.”
While there were no complaints about the number of tourists this summer, some business owners had to operate this summer with limited staff, a difficult hurdle for staying open.
“It was very daunting. It wasn’t so much the volume, it was the schedule,” said Amy Kane, who operates The Bookstore. “The real difficulty was finding employees who could cover those hours. It was like going from zero to ninety, and I’m not sure I was even ready to get back to sixty.”
The increase in visitors this year was also due in part to a rockslide that damaged the railroad cruise dock in Skagway, diverting several ships to town.
“It’s been an amazing season,” Auch said. “There are still issues to overcome, but it was better than predicted and we are appreciative of the businesses who made the effort to accommodate our visitors.”
Auch said cruise and travel surveys generally showed positive feedback. “People are understanding of delays and lack of availability of services. Local businesses are looking forward and trying to best prepare for what we all hope is a better season next year,” said Auch.