Chilkat Guides will partner with Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center to offer upwards of 40 cruise-based tours at Klukwan next summer.

The partnership represents a big step for tours in the village, which have been offered sporadically in the past. “We’re pretty excited. This is a breakthrough for us. We can hire people to do some of the work,” said Lani Hotch, executive director of the center.

Alaska Mountain Guides president Sean Gaffney, who operates Chilkat Guides, said cruise lines have agreed to sell the tour, which will begin as a raft excursion and end with activities in the village culture camp and heritage center campus.

Gaffney said the partnership was an “absolutely special opportunity,” as the heritage center will be an asset for the entire community.

Hotch said the tours would be offered during each of 18 Holland America dockings, three times during each of six dockings of smaller, Tauck cruise ships, and twice during Princess Cruises dockings.

While Princess has offered Klukwan tours in past years, Holland America has said it would wait for completion of the center to sell village tours on board its ships. Hotch said last week she’s hoping the center will open by May 2016.

Next year’s tour would likely include hearing the stories of the wall screen and totems in the village’s culture camp longhouse. They’ll also see villagers using traditional methods to process salmon and have a salmon lunch in the center’s hospitality house.

Hotch said because of the sporadic nature of tours in the past, tours have relied on volunteers for staff.