A new report commissioned by the cruise industry outlines the financial boost cruise ship visitors have had on Sitka’s economy.
The report was prepared by global advisory firm Oxford Economics for CLIA — the Cruise Lines International Association, and was published last week.
Sitka Tourism Manager Judson Rusk told the Sitka Assembly on Tuesday (8-11-26) the study is part of a larger project launched in 2024 that looks at 10 different cruise ports across Europe and the Pacific Northwest.
“The goal was to create a consistent framework for understanding cruise activity at the individual port level, and then ultimately what that activity means economically for that destination,” he said.
The 40-page report breaks down economic impact on Sitka into three categories: direct impact — meaning the money spent in town by cruise passengers; indirect impact — meaning the money businesses spend to purchase goods and services to help their operations; and induced impact — meaning what employees of those businesses then go spend their wages on in town.
“So a visitor spends money at a business. That business spends money with suppliers and pays their employees. Those employees spend some of their earnings elsewhere,” Rusk said.
The cruise industry yielded $105 million in direct spending in Sitka in 2024, according to the report. And every cruise passenger, on average, spent $136 during their visit.
Sitka cruise activity directly supported 569 jobs, according to the report, and indirectly supported an additional 185 jobs, for a total of 754 jobs supported across Alaska.
The report says cruise demand in Alaska grew by 40% between 2019 and 2024 — more than double the global rate. But it projects demand will slow down moving forward.
“It shows that Alaska holds a very strong position as being a premium and in-demand cruise market, but that there is also reasonable and sustainable projected stability in the foreseeable future, which I think is a very good news for a community like ours,” Rusk said.
In other business…
The assembly gave final approval on a fee waiver program for large groups planning winter-time events at the city’s convention center on Tuesday. Assembly members also approved an updated agreement between the city and Sitka Recreation Foundation regarding the development of a parks and recreation master plan, and held an executive session to discuss municipal administrator candidates.
