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Alaskan Cruise Liners

Economical Side of Cruise Liners, Alaska

2016 was the most recent year of CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) studies conducted around the cruise industry specifically in the US and more specifically Alaska. In 2016, Alaskan cruises generated nearly 5 million passenger and crew visits, 20.3% of all passenger and crew visits in the US. (NASDAQ, 2017)[1]

Alaska Total Share of the U.S. (percent)
Passenger Embarkations 157,000 1.3
Resident Cruise Passengers 9,000 0.1
Total Passenger & Crew Visits 4,897,000 20.3
Direct Expenditures ($ Millions) $1,065 4.9
Total Employment Impact 19,842 5.1
Total Wage Impact ($ Millions) $991 4.8

Visitor volume is represented by overall visitors entering Alaskan waters and/or airspace. Between October 2016 and September 2017 Alaska had about 2.2 million visitors, 49% of those visitors being through the cruise industry. That 2.2 million was a 27% upgrade since 2009 and the volume overall has had a steady positive trend. Visitors generally spend money when travelling and this is measured in 2 distinct areas, the cruising companies themselves and the visitors. There are no current numbers for the cruise specific passengers spending ashore but the overall visitor expenditure can be measured. Tours accounted for $394 M (18%), Gifts and Souvenirs $427 M (20%), Food $428 M (20%), Transportation $258 M (12%), Lodging $454 M (21%), and Other $217 M (10%). The second main area of economic growth comes from what the cruising companies and their crews spend themselves. Cruise Liners spend around $297 million on the items that come in their packages on-board and ashore as parts of group tours, things like stagecoach rides, boat tours on smaller vessels throughout their ports of call. This money is then sent to the service providers through the cruise line company. Cruise liner crew is also a revenue generator with 27,000 crew members visiting Alaska in 2017 alone, generating about 22 million. 2017 was also a great year for job generation within Alaska, 43,300 jobs were created bringing in 1.5 billion in labor costs, and a total of 4.5 billion being generated. These jobs were scattered across all of Alaska. Southeast Alaska had 11,925 jobs ($455 M labor income), Southwest 1,800 jobs ($50 M labor income), South central 20,700 jobs ($761 M Labor income), Interior 8,500 jobs ($276 M labor income), Far North 375 jobs ($13 M labor income). Labor income is shown through the graph below.

Employment Labor Income
Direct Jobs/Income from Visitor Spending 30,400 $870 Million
Food and Drink 6,900 $173 Million
Accomodations 6,200 $163 Million
Retail 5,300 $108 Million
Tours and Activities 5,000 $173 Million
Transportation 4,100 $173 Million
Other 2,800 $79 Million
Direct Jobs / Income from Industry Spending 4,100 $133 Million
Indirect / Induced jobs income 8,800 $536 Million
Total visitor industry-related jobs / income 43,300 $1.54 Billion

(Group, 2017)[2]

History of Pleasure Cruises in the Inside Passage and Alaska

The Alaskan Cruising industry was started in 1875 by the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. of San Francisco on the vessels Ancon and Idaho. These cruises started as monthly voyages to Alaska, more specifically The Inside Passage in southeast Alaska. These cruises were often accompanied with livestock, cargo, and gold prospectors. Travelling through PCS a cabin ticket cost $30, and $15 for the modern equivalent of ‘economy class’ these cruises would normally stop at Taku Glacier, Sitka, and Juneau. By 1882 there were 1,800 passengers visiting Alaskan waters yearly and the business kept growing to the point that PCS added two more vessels to their fleet, the City of Topeka, and the Mexico, culminating in a third vessel in 1984, the Queen, which had 250 first class staterooms. At this point in history the Klondike gold rush hadn’t happened yet so most of the passengers were scouting for the potential of gold or out looking for adventure. There were no towns only two canneries and the native peoples of the area. PCS eventually gained competition however with the introduction of Alaska Steamship Co. in 1894. ASC was more interested in freight in their beginnings, focusing on the newly developed gold rush and profiting to the point of opening their cruise industry with the introduction of their vessel, the Dolphin. During the gold rush however, the cruising industry died down to make way for the gold rush and prospector freight that was the new focus. ASC stayed afloat through all of this due to their freight history and the fact that they were owned by a business named Morgan-Guggenheim which also owned one of the larger copper mines, the Kennecott mines. A hallmark of newer Alaskan industry was the Alaska-Yukon Exposition in Seattle, 1909, which showed off the accessible wonders that Alaska had to offer and attracted visitors seeking glacier exploration and a new place to visit. ASC also worked closely with the newly developed Alaskan Railroad and advertised combination tours called ‘Golden Belt’ tours that took passengers through the Alaskan coastline and up further through the new, government owned, railroad. This new tours first ticket sold in 1922. The Kennecott mines provided back-haul until they closed in 1930, then the ASC was sold to the Skinner family in Seattle, who then turned the focus of the company back to freight and passenger hauling. Once WWII started, the ships were taken to be used in the war effort and returned post-war in a used condition, needing to be repaired.

(Journal,2009)[3]

  1. ^ NASDAQ (October 4, 2017). "Global Cruise Industry Contributes $1.07 Billion to Alaska's economy". NASDAQ OMX's News Release Distribution Channel.
  2. ^ McDowell Group (2017). "Economic Impacts of Alaska's Visitor Industry" (PDF). McDowell Group.
  3. ^ Alaska Journal of Commerce (June 2009). "A Century of Cruising". A Century of Cruising. 1.
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