(UPDATE) JUNEAU, Alaska — Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier. Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a respite from the influx.
A measure that would ban cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays (Sundays in Manila) qualified for the October 1 municipal ballot, setting the stage for a debate about how much tourism is too much in a city that is experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change. The measure would also ban ships on July 4 (July 5 in Manila), a day when locals flock to a downtown parade.
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