Alaskans are seeking a respite from thousands of tourists who want to cruise the panhandle region

The agreement, finalized late last week, seeks a daily limit of 16,000 passengers on Sunday-Friday cruises and 12,000 on Saturdays. However, officials said that does not necessarily mean there will be that many people every day.

Cruise passenger numbers have risen rapidly after two years of pandemic hiatus, reaching a record high of more than 1.6 million passengers in Juneau last year. This has caused tension between businesses that depend on tourism and residents tired of increased traffic, crowded trails and the hum of helicopters ferrying visitors to the glaciers.

Cruise seasons are also getting longer, with the first boat this year arriving in Juneau in early April, and the last scheduled to arrive in late October. On peak days in the past, ridership totaled about two-thirds of Juneau's population of about 32,000 people.

The daily limit of five large vessels came into effect with the current season, as part of a separate agreement signed last year.

The goal of the current agreement is to keep cruise passenger numbers roughly constant, in the 1.6 million range, Alexandra Pierce, Juneau's director of visitor industry, said Tuesday.

“The idea is that the agreement gives everyone time to not only see if it is sustainable but also to build the infrastructure that will help them feel more sustainable,” she said.

Pearce said she expects a number of projects to be completed in the next five years that “will help our current numbers feel less impacted.” She cited plans for a gondola at the city-owned ski area, upgrades to the downtown waterway and increased visitor capacity At the popular Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area.

The agreement, signed by the city manager and senior cruise line executives, also calls for annual meetings to “review lessons learned, review and improve operations for the following season, and align with community and industry standards, goals and opportunities.”

City leaders are “trying to balance the needs of our residents, the needs of our economy, and the needs of future opportunities for people to stay in our community,” Pierce said.

Carla Hart, a long-time critic of the industry, is skeptical of the new agreement, saying it does not do enough to address the concerns of many residents that current tourism levels are unsustainable.

“It's like we're moving forward again, and the expansion will continue and more time will pass” and the effects will continue, she said.

Hart is helping push a proposed local ballot initiative that would establish “ship-free Saturdays,” with cruise ships with at least 250 passengers not allowed to stop in Juneau on Saturdays or the Fourth of July. The measure is underway. If the measure is approved, it could appear on the October ballot.

The initiatives “remove the opportunity for collaboration and discussion, and I think that leaves a lot to be desired,” said Rene Limoges-Reeve, vice president of government and community relations at the Cruise Lines International Association Alaska trade group.

The agreements with Juneau are the first signed by the industry in Alaska and underscore the cruise lines' commitment “to be good partners in the communities we visit,” she said. Juneau and other Southeast Alaska communities are popular stops on cruises departing from Seattle or Vancouver. The smaller Sitka community has also been grappling with controversy over tourism numbers.

Reeve and Pierce also participated Tuesday in a press conference held by the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce to discuss the agreement.