While Canada may have announced its plans to reopen British Columbia ports to those vessels that transit the Alaska Cruise theatre this November, the indications from Alaska seem to be that the temporary law allowing vessels to travel to the state without a Canadian stop may see a push towards becoming permanent.
That at least the rumbling from the State's politicians, with Senator Lisa Murkowski among those voices suggesting that this year's arrangement become the new guideline for Alaskan bound cruise lines.
Ms. Murkowski welcomed the first cruise ship to the state since 2019 last week, with the Royal Carribean vessel Serenade of the Seas arriving in Ketchikan to relaunch the states cruise tourism industry.
The highly regarded Alaska Senator noting of the work that went into ensuring that Alaska had a cruise industry this year.
“I am pleased to welcome the first large cruise ship of the 2021 season. Tourism is the lifeblood for hundreds of Alaska small businesses and thousands of employees. I’ve been committed to help bring tourism back for the 2021 season and keep Alaskans afloat through the hardships created by the pandemic. It was an all-hands-on-deck effort to find a solution to the 2021 cruise ship season and bring a much-needed economic boost to our communities. I want to thank the other members of the delegation for working with me to get my legislation, the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, across the finish line. This legislation made it possible to begin to bring cruise ships back to Alaska – so that our communities can have a productive tourist season. Today marks an important step toward Alaska’s road to economic recovery from the pandemic.”A very quiet Northland Cruise Terminal this year will see a return to visitors in 2022 |
In the last week, the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce had called on all levels of government to continue to work towards ensuring that the legislation that encourages Canadian port visits remains in place.
Though with the Senator's comments of last week, that ship may have already sailed, something which may leave local cruise officials and proponents looking towards a plan B to ensure that the Northland Cruise Terminal is once again an active part of the British Columbia cruise industry in 2022.
More notes on the Cruise industry on the North Coast can be explored from our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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