KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Cruise ship head tax causing stir at tourism conference
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Some Alaskans disagree on whether the cruise ship head tax helps support infrastructure in port communities or is driving cruise lines away. (File/KTUU-DT)by Lori Tipton
Thursday, November 19, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The future of Alaska's tourism industry, according to some, is facing a crisis.
On the second day of the Resource Development Council's annual conference there was heated discussion about why fewer cruise ships will be setting sail to the Last Frontier, and what that means for the state.
A few cruise lines have already announced plans to pull out ships over the next few years, blaming stiff regulations and high taxes.
And some say this will have a huge negative impact, affecting all of Alaska.
Steve Hites, the owner of the Skagway Street Car Company, says the state hasn't tried hard enough to keep cruise ships in Alaska waters. He blames the state's $50 head tax on cruise ship passengers for pushing the industry elsewhere.
However, proponents of the head tax say Alaska needs it in order to pay for infrastructure in port communities, and say cruise ships pulled out because of the bad economy.
“There is no credible empirical data to suggest that the head tax, as it's called in Alaska, has diminished people wanting to come to Alaska,” said Joe Geldhof, an attorney who co-sponsored the head tax initiative.
“They're pulling ships and it's gonna hurt a lot of local businesses, and along with those ships that they're pulling out of the state, they're also pulling out marketing dollars,” said Paul Landis, the COO of CIRI Alaska Tourism Corp.
Also announced at the conference Thursday, Hites and a few others have formed a non-profit called the Alaska Alliance of Cruise Travel, or Alaska ACT.
It is made up of like-minded businesses who say they understand the value of the cruise industry and its impact on the Alaska economy.
The group is urging the governor to either reduce or repeal the head tax to lure cruise lines back to Alaska.
The state was slapped with a lawsuit in mid-September by the Alaska cruise industry trying to stop the head tax.
Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com
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