On a sunny September day, one cruise ship after another docked here, releasing thousands of passengers on land to explore.
The ships included the Norwegian Spirit. Royal Caribbean's ship was the last to dock.
The CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group stood on the dance floor of the Safari Lounge to hear from city officials, dock developers, restaurant owners and other members of the travel community who rely on cruise companies to bring people to their destinations.
The cruise industry was devastated by the Pandemic in 2020 and it took a long time for it to return to Alaska. Liberty went on an end-of-season listening tour in Alaska and found a mix of gratitude for the company's cruise business and challenges with ongoing labor shortages.
The Royal Caribbean Group has had challenges of its own. Liberty told them that the company went from making $10 billion a year before the outbreak to zero after it ended.
I have had a lot of education in my life. He told the leaders that there was no lesson to be learned. It's a huge impact to us, but also a huge impact to all these great communities.
The impact of the Pandemic has lessened over time. Congress worked out a historic exemption to the passenger vessel services act in order to allow cruise ships to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada. One in ten jobs in Alaska were related to the travel industry in 2019.
Liberty said that getting back up into business was not a small task and that they were going to battle protocols and labor issues. It was done by us. We left the other side of this.
The first full cruise season after the Pandemic began was in 2022.
Royal Caribbean Group's brands sailed 10 ships in Alaska this year. The company sent six ships to the last frontier in 2019.
There are some of the most amazing landscapes on the planet here. Liberty said that they keep increasing their game on their ships. We want to make sure that the experience on the ship is the same as it is on land.
Local leaders said this was a good year. The state's mountains, glaciers, nature, culture and food were consistently delivered by cruise lines, but businesses couldn't find enough workers to handle them all.
"Cruise lines have done a great job filling their beds," said Reecia Wilson, who owns five waterfront restaurants.
Due to labor shortages, she is only able to open three of her restaurants. She said that they were trying to get out of the epidemic.
labor issues have affected access to excursions, like coach tours or whale-watching, as well as business and destination development on the west coast.
He said that the tours that are available are selling out earlier.
Several business leaders said that labor issues are the same in Alaska as they are in the Lower 48. Between retirements and the Great Resignation trend of workers leaving their jobs, many Alaska companies have struggled to hire enough staff. She said that the association is looking at ways to better promote job opportunities in the state.
Gerald Byers, the mayor of Hoonah, was asked if businesses in the area have a labor problem. There are labor issues in restaurants and hotels. Several city jobs that were posted a year ago have not been filled.
Some 175,000 people came through this year on cruise ships and business is booming in the town of 3,000.
The city hit record numbers for campground income in 2021 and high numbers of in-state travelers, which signaled to DeMoss and the city that people would be ready to travel again
When you couldn't travel to other countries yet, Alaska was one of the more exotic places to visit.
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