Locals in one of the most remote towns in America are complaining that the influx of cruise ship arrivals is turning their home into an “amusement park.”
Juneau, the capital of Alaska, offers stunning views of snow-topped mountains, glaciers, and a temperate rainforest, attracting over 1.5 million cruise passengers every year.
This has come at a cost to the local community, which is getting tired of the constant stream of tourists and noise pollution caused by helicopter tours to see the glaciers.
Karla Hart, an activist who used to run a tourism business, lives in the city that is only accessible by air or sea and says the constant noise makes it “impossible” to get on with day-to-day tasks.
She told The Guardian: “The noise never stops. I can feel them before I see them. I get groups of two to five helicopters flying over my house every 20 minutes. On any given day, that adds up to 50 to 75 flights.
“It’s impossible to enjoy my garden or concentrate on work. We’ve become an amusement park. The soul of Juneau is being sold off piece by piece.”
Between April and October, up to five cruise ships dock every day, some of which carry up to 4,000 passengers who stop for day trips.
Juneau’s 32,000 residents are forced to monitor cruise schedules to avoid going into the city centre at the same time as the crowds of tourists.
While there is an agreement that up to 16,000 cruise passengers disembark daily from Sunday to Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays, Hart has advocated for stricter regulations.
She spearheaded an initiative to ban cruise ships on Saturdays and the 4th of July, but roughly 60% of the 100,000 people who voted opposed it.
Cruise ships and the tourism industry as a whole have become a lifeline for Juneau following its reliance on timber and gold.
It’s also surrounded by the traditional fishing waters of its Indigenous communities. Stacy Eldemar, a member of the Tlingit Indigenous community, warned that “our sacred spaces are disappearing” because of the “uncontrolled growth” of tourism.
She told the outlet: “I don’t like the uncontrolled growth, the impact on the ecosystem that I’m seeing. [The ships] killed off the herring run. We used to gather herring.
“Our sacred spaces are disappearing. It is so important that we have these places where silence speaks. It’s ironic that the very thing these tourists are seeking is being destroyed by the industry that’s bringing them here.”
