Thread: Alaska Legislature Approves Bill to Lower Cruise Head Tax

Alaska Legislature Approves Bill to Lower Cruise Head Tax

April 16, 2010Alaska Legislature Approves Bill to Lower Cruise Head Tax (8 p.m. EDT) --
Just three days before it's scheduled to adjourn for the year, the Alaska state legislature Thursday approved a bill that will lower the controversial head tax charged to cruise passengers from $46 to $19.50 per person, effective immediately.

Last month, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell proposed the agreement to persuade several major cruise lines -- which claimed the tax was unfair and possibly illegal -- to drop a lawsuit they had filed against the state to contest the tariff, which was passed in a 2006 vote by Alaska residents as part of a larger initiative.

According to the Juneau Empire, the bill passed in a 17-3 vote; the majority seems unsurprising, though, given the fact that Alaska expects to see 140,000 fewer passengers this year than it did last year.

Major lines like Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland America have pulled ships from the region in the past couple of years -- a decline that could seriously impact already-suffering small businesses in the region. Juneau alone is expected to lose more than $25 million in revenue in 2010.

However, in spite of the change, the Juneau Empire also reports that not everyone is happy. Because other factors -- including a lack of proper marketing and promotion for the region, as well as the recently lackluster economic climate -- have also been blamed for Alaska's decline, it remains to be seen whether tourism (cruise tourism, in particular) will pick up in coming years. The agreement encourages, but does not require, cruise lines to return ships to Alaska.

I wonder if we will get an OBC for the amount we paid for our upcoming Alaska cruise next month?

It'll be interesting to see if some ships can redirected there the year after next.

I guess... The all mighty dollar still speaks..the revenue from cruise industry is i guess just too important to the Alaskan economy..