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That with the Port releasing a schedule of 26 Port calls to the community to help rebuild the local industry after a two year COVID shutdown.
And while the Port and its partners have done some extensive work in building the industry back up from the interruptions of COVID, there may be a few choppy waters ahead yet for 2022.
That comes by way of a pair of Alaska Senators continuing their call to secure the transit of the Alaska Cruise industry through measures adopted last year to encourage non stop travel to Alaskan ports through BC Waters without the once required BC pit stop.
Last month Both Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan called for the extension of the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA), with the Alaska delegation noting how they are ready and able to again temporarily authorize foreign-flagged passenger vessels to bypass Canada, should we close our borders once again.
“Alaska’s economy and our communities should not be at the mercy of decisions made by the Canadian government and I will do whatever is needed to ensure Alaskans can prosper,” said Senator Murkowski. “The introduction of this legislation provides another tool in our tool box in the event that it is needed. It also sends a message to the world that Alaska is ready and excited to welcome visitors to our state this upcoming season.” -- Senator Lisa Murkowski March 2022
“The losses from the cancelled 2020 cruise ship season left many of our small businesses across Southeast devastated and in the red, not to mention the communities and workers they support. We were able to salvage a portion of the 2021 season with the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, but these hard-working Alaskans are still a long way from their pre-pandemic strength. Simply put, we need a banner year for visitors in 2022. Alaskans cannot gamble again on the goodwill and commonsense of our Canadian neighbors, who failed us last year. Senator Murkowski, Congressman Young, and I are asking our colleagues to again recognize the unique challenge the PVSA poses to Alaska and grant a one-year extension of our Alaska Tourism Restoration Act as we all work together on a longer-term exemption from the PVSA’s antiquated restrictions.” -- Sen. Dan Sullivan March 2022.
Alaska's Sole Congressman Don Young had also signed onto the call for a renewal of the BC Ports bypass option, however he passed away last month and his seat will now be contested in an election.
The Alaskan measure could give Cruise lines cause to consider skipping Canadian ports such as Prince Rupert as they transit the Alaska Cruise circuit, though as we have seen from last weeks PRPA announcement so far, the stars are aligning for the local scene to this point with many familiar names in the industry pencilling in Prince Rupert for a port call.
That border closure the Alaskans are concerned about seems quite unlikely now, considering how British Columbia and Canada have moved towards more of a surveillance mode on COVID, monitoring the coronavirus, while removing many of the restrictions of the last two years.
In fact, this past weekend saw the start of the Canadian Cruise Ship season, with port calls in Victoria and Vancouver, so the likelihood of another shutdown of the industry does not seem a likely option moving through this cruise season.
Still, when American legislators get an idea in their heads, there rarely is no turning them from measures that can have a wide impact on Canadian interests and the long range goal appears to be to revisit the current American legislation towards a more modern and updated version.
So perhaps some fence mending from Federal and Provincial officials may serve to put the call for renewal on a shelf for the year, while advocating for Canadian interests towards any future legislation.
More notes on the 2022 Cruise season can be explored from our archive page.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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