The cruise industry spent $1.02 billion in Alaska in 2011 according to a recent report by the non-profit Cruise Lines International Association.
Alaska ports welcomed 4.8 million cruise ship crew and passengers, 22 percent of all cruiser visits to U.S. ports. These visitors and staff spent an average of $104 per person, or a total of around $500 million.
CLIA’s report said the cruise industry directly and indirectly supported 22,500 full- and part-time jobs with wages totals approaching $1 billion.
Major benefactors include Alaska’s hotels, airlines and tour operators. Along with construction, trucking, utilities and the food industry.
Alaska ranked fifth in the nation for its economic benefit from cruising in 2011. Nation-wide, direct purchases by the association’s 26 member lines, which include Holland America Line, Princes Cruises and Disney Cruise Line, and their passengers and crew totaled $18.9 billion in 2011 (goo.gl/iUs81).
The U.S. stayed on top for another year as the major “economic driver for the industry” in 2011, according to the association. Nearly two-thirds of all passengers and 60 percent of all cruise embarkations in the world were of U.S. origin.
For more information visit www.cruising.org.
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"The cruise industry spent $1.02 billion in Alaska in 2011 according to a recent report by the non-profit Cruise Lines International Association."
Note that the CLIA may be non-profit, but the industry the represent most definitely isn't. They aren't running all of these cruises for our benefit. They have their own motives. The fact that we're both making money is a happy coincidence, but never forget that they'd flush us in an instant if they calculated that it would increase their bottom line.
Lat,Nothing makes you
Lat,
Nothing makes you happy.
This is a GOOD thing.
What other small towns in America have giant ships full of money visit them all summer long…and then they stay away all winter leaving the place to the locals? It’s like magic.
A safe PR blast.
If Alaska really wants to know what it gains or loses from the industry, it has the tools at hand to do the research at the Institute of Social and Economic Research. There are costs, both short term and long term. And the private sector- those businesses which do not buy into the deals with the lines to be "favored" with kickbacks, suffer as passengers are steered to approved outfits. Simply to run this PR release is not journalism which serves Alaskan voters or officials.
The cruise ship industry
The cruise ship industry brought more than $1,020,000,000 to Alaska, and provided more than 22,000 jobs. That's more than the entire working population of Juneau. And people are complaining they made a profit. Wow. Such abject stupidity is stunning. Thank you cruise industry, for providing thousands of jobs and a billion dollars of economy to Alaska. And a thank you for those almost 5 million visitors that came to our beautiful state. Juneau would be decidedly dull without them and those living and employed here due to them.
4 million cruise passengers? Hardly.
Juneau and Skagway get about a million passengers each- same passengers from the same ships.
I wonder what ports the other 3 million people stop at. If this part of the industry data is inflated by a factor of four, what about the rest of the report?
I can see there are pros and
I can see there are pros and cons of the cruise ship industry. However, anybody who bitches about the industry making a profit is an outright idiot. The sole purpose of running a business is to make a profit. Nobody with half a lick of common sense runs a business without a motive of profit. Of course the industry would pull out of the game if its profits dried up. Just like I'd quit working in a heartbeat if I wasn't going to get paid.
Lat's just pointing out the same thing
from a different perspective, Fume---That the loyalty of multinationals to the well-being of this state depends solely on their ability to make a profit here; that they will take shortcuts at our expense when they can, as we've seen many times over the years with sewage dumping in our waters, for instance.
It takes a vigilant citizenry to keep track of the violations and hold these industries to account for this very reason---Even the Coast Guard has acted to keep a lid on reporting cruise-ship violations, right in down-town Juneau!---And yet these companies have shown they're not shy about playing politics in our small towns, acting against the very residents that try to track on their activities.
Sure, it's great news that they contribute to our economy with over 22,000 jobs (and a relatively unspoiled environment is a major part of the draw)---But it's no reason to write them a blank check.
This is one of the biggest examples of environmentalists and watch-dogs doing industry a favor, whether they realize it or not: In this case not to cr@p in their own bed to the point where people don't want to come here---A clear detriment to the bottom line.
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Thank you, Jamison
Well stated.
I don't dislike the cruise industry. It's a lot lower impact than some others that might dominate the field here. And a lot of small local business have sprung up to serve the need. No issue with that.
But just because they bring in revenue (and profit) doesn't mean they're pure as the driven snow. They'll do whatever they think is good for their bottom line, whether it benefits us or not.
For example, they lie a lot. This article is a great example - they may have had 4.8 million debarkations, but it was the same 1 million passengers, as RatfishTim pointed out. I call that claim a lie, a distortion at best. And the $1 billion in wages they claim were paid out, how much of that billion went to their foreign crews, which almost entirely left our state (and country) with no taxes being paid on it?
The whole business with the head tax is another great example of them lying to achieve an end, and coercing Parnell to go along with the tax cut. Any guesses how much the cruise industry will donate to Parnell's future campaigns? I'm sure their investment has paid off handsomely.
The industry is a net benefit to Alaska, but it's OUR Alaska and they need to be reminded of that regularly. And so do their handmaidens.
Parnell didn't seem
like he needed a lot of coercing...
Only $18billion nationwide?
Only $18billion nationwide? We better give them a tax break or a bailout or something.... Poor little things!
Cruise ship monies
As a visitor who spent quite a sum of money-via cruiseing to your state-in 2011 to your beautiful state, and a reader of Juneau news on the internet, I am amazed at the number of negative comments appearing regularly ref cruise ships and passenger spending. Again, as a visitor, my question to those people is- how would your state be if no cruise ship/passengers came? Seems to me in not as good financial shape as you are now. And don't yawn at your jobs because of us visitors. We would love to have the jobs/monies you have down here in Alabama.
Hope to visit again. On a cruise ship.