Tourism Planning

Real conversations and continued strategies around managing and enhancing Juneau’s visitor industry.

What is the Visitor Industry Task Force?

The Visitor Industry Task Force was created within the City and Borough of Juneau by Mayor Beth Weldon as a ten-member task force whose purpose is to provide helpful advice to the Assembly and to start community conversations surrounding tourism management in Juneau.

August 29, 2022: MOA signed by CBJ and members of Cruise Line International

The City and Borough of Juneau and member companies of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in a massive effort to help mitigate the impacts of the visitor industry on the community!

The agreement is based on recommendations provided by the Visitor Industry Task Force and includes a list of solidified commitments on the intent to work together to address community goals! In this first MOA, the cruise lines have agreed to the following:

 

  • Minimize offloading ship waste in Juneau's landfill

  • Limit drinking water purchase from CBJ during drought conditions

  • Eliminate the use of large video screens while in port and when visible to neighbors

25 YEARS OF PROGRESS

The City and Borough of Juneau has made leaps and bounds in the past 25 years to manage and address tourism, including…

  • Support of Tourism Best Management Practices

  • Shoreside Task Force

  • Tourism Working Group

  • Tourism Advisory Committee

  • Flightseeing Noise Working Group

  • Collaboration Juneau

  • Visitor Industry Task Force and pending recommendations


Tourism Best Management Practices has also been an amazing collaborative effort by Juneau tour operators, cruise lines, transpiration providers and the City and Borough of Juneau to minimize the impacts of tourism in a manner which addresses both resident and industry concerns.

 

Tourism Best Management Practices at work:

  1. Created more community-friendly guidelines and procedures for commercial groups using trails with Trails Working Group

  2. Put in place flightseeing guidelines that specify routes and shortened hours of operation

  3. Initiated vehicle guidelines which eliminated 90% of motor coach traffic on Franklin Street and prohibits all tour vehicles except trolleys from using Calhoun and 12th Street

  4. Created guidelines to address whale-watching concerns (in conjunction with NOAA) and boat wake (in conjunction with Docks and Harbors) in Statter Harbor

  5. Created the TBMP crossing guard program to effectively and safely manage vehicle and pedestrian movement through the downtown core

  6. Implemented pedestrian stations with the CBJ to guide pedestrians to crosswalks and allow traffic to move more efficiently along South Franklin Street

  7. Worked with the CBJ and Wings of Alaska to eliminate the radial engines on floatplanes using the downtown harbor and replace with quieter turbine engines with help of low-interest loan from marine (cruise ship) passenger fees

  8. Initiated the TBMP Hotline to accept concerns and queries regarding tour operations from local residents

  9. Encouraged other communities in Southeast Alaska to adopt Tourism Management Best Practices --- TBMP is now in place in Wrangell, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Icy Strait Point is currently working on their program