Q – Who makes up Alaska’s cruise industry?
A – The industry includes companies who bring visitors to Alaska on a cruise or cruise tour package. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. A wide variety of businesses throughout the state are also part of Alaska’s cruise industry. And that includes non-port communities. For example, in Fairbanks, about half of all visitors are cruise passengers.
The cruise industry includes 2,175 of businesses that provide tours and activities for cruise tour passengers. It includes car-rental companies, eating and drinking establishments, air transportation companies, hotels and lodges. In addition to direct sales, cruise-related businesses purchase goods and services and invest millions of dollars in capital projects each year. This affects Alaska businesses like construction, real estate, banking, freight, transportation, maintenance, bookkeeping and a long list of support services.
Q – What is the “Independent Cruise” market?A – According to the Alaska Visitors Statistics Program, 12% of all Alaska cruise passengers spent time traveling on their own in Alaska, before or after their cruise or cruise tour package. Independent cruisers spent an average of 10.8 nights in Alaska and stayed in hotels/motels significantly more than the average visitor.
Q – Why do people take a cruise?
A – When comparing cruising in general to other vacations, cruisers are more likely than non-cruisers to consider cruising:
Cruisers are not exclusively cruisers; they are frequent vacationers that cruise as part of their vacation mix. They average 2.8 trips each year, with 25% of their vacations being a cruise.
Over 85% of all cruise passengers also consider cruising to be an important vehicle for sampling destinations to which they may return. More than 50% fully expect to return to the area for a land-based vacation.
Q – How do Alaska’s environmental standards compare to the rest of the world?
A – Alaska has some of the most stringent marine environmental standards in the world. In addition, the cruise lines have voluntarily adopted higher standards than those required by law spending more than $200 million in environmental upgrades in recent years. In fact, the industry has been recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard for its efforts to safeguard Alaska’s environment.
Q – What effect does the cruise business have on Alaska’s economy?
A – Cruise ships are like a second pipeline for Alaska. The cruise industry is a renewable resource that provides jobs for Alaskans and a source of significant revenue for businesses and communities. Cruise-related spending accounts for more than 13,000 annual equivalent jobs and over $1.35 billion flowing through the Alaska economy each year.
Q – What about local Alaskan communities? Are they reaping the benefits of all of these visitors?
A – Cruise-related spending helps keep our local economies healthy. Municipal governments collect over $50 million annually from a combination of sales tax, bed tax, docking fees and property taxes. Cruise companies are also significant 222 contributors to local charities and nonprofit organizations. As a result many businesses have reported that were it not for these visitors, they would not be able to keep their doors open for residents.
Q – How much has the cruise industry grown overall?
A – Worldwide, the cruise industry is the fastest-growing category in the leisure-travel market. Since 1980, the industry has experienced an average annual passenger growth rate of over 8% per annum.
Q – Why can’t we tax cruise passenger to fund state government?
A – While it’s tempting to look to out-of-state visitors to increase our state general fund, federal law mandates that a tax targeting cruisers must be used only for port facilities. The U.S. Constitution and federal statutes have placed restrictions on how marine passenger fees can be used. Numerous legal opinions have confirmed that these fees cannot be used as general revenue sources because federal law requires that they be used “solely to pay the cost of service to the vessel.” There are no such restrictions on sales tax which is collected from all visitors without regard to mode of transportation.© Copyright 2010 Alaska Cruise Association. All rights reserved.