Juneau’s tourism task force is close to making its official recommendations, and multiple task force members said a hard cap on the number of visitors to the capital city is not expected to be part of the plan.<\/p>\n
The City and Borough of Juneau Visitor Industry Task Force Sunday had a work session to provide instruction to city staff to help finish drafting recommendations, and a final draft is likely to be approved before the March 23 Committee of the Whole meeting, said Task Force Chair and Assembly member Carole Triem in a phone interview.<\/p>\n
“I think that the task force is pretty much in agreement that a hard cap is not legal and not practical,” Triem said.<\/p>\n
Instead, she said the task force members generally favor recommendations that would use infrastructure to limit the number of tourists coming to Juneau. Additionally, she and other task force members said some recommendations will be changes that could be implemented as soon as this summer.<\/p>\n
“In general, a discussion was the city would just become more involved in how the ships are berthing and working through the port agent,” said task force member Kirby Day, who also coordinates the city’s Tourism Best Management Practices program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Triem said that could mean coordinating things so that larger, fuller ships are berthed closer to town, which could cut down on congestion. Day said it could also mean further separation between the arrival of ships.<\/p>\n Day, Triem and task force member Paula Terrel each said they were pleased with the task force’s process and progress. The 10-member task force was created in late 2019 by Mayor Beth Weldon to answer questions about managing Juneau’s growing visitor industry<\/a>. This tourist season, 1.44 million visitors expected to come to Southeast communities.<\/p>\n Terrel, who has been critical of the tourism industry in the past and previously expressed concerns about the makeup of the task force, said she process exceeded her expectations and everyone’s input was considered.<\/p>\n