“It’s a proactive strategy to anticipating problems rather than a reactive strategy to solving problems,” said Princess’ Kirby Day, who pioneered the Tourism Best Management Practices (TBMP) program in Juneau.
Day organized the program 22 years ago to identify, address and better manage the community impacts of Juneau’s growing cruise industry.
Funded with a grant from local bed-tax collections, it uses the guiding principles of “Awareness. Action. Accountability.” to develop “best practices,” such as altering flightseeing routes to avoid flying over residential areas. The program has greatly relieved citizen complains. The number of calls to its hotline has fallen from 248 in 2000 to 93 in 2019, the season Juneau greeted its most cruise visitors ever.
“Having established communication channels, feedback loops and public involvement is key to a process of building a sustainable tourism industry in your city,” said Day. It’s a collaborative effort involving the community, industry, tour operators, local government and residents. Suggestions and concerns can be logged online at www.tbmp.info, on the hotline (907) 586-6774 or in-person at an issue work session.
When suggestions for improvement come in, the group addresses them within three days. “Experience has proven we can solve most issues with face-to-face communication between parties,” said Day.
Day shared several examples of success, including how Juneau welcomed 150,000 additional cruise visitors last summer yet TBMP did not receive a single complaint related to growth. “This huge influx of passengers blended in because of the behind-the-scenes logistic coordination that occurred in advance of arrival and, often, between competitive companies.”
