Healthy tourism season saw 241 port calls in Sitka

Front runners in Sitka’s Running of the Boots, the informal foot race marking the end of the 2017 visitors seasons. This year saw 241 ports of call with ships big and small, few cancellations, and a downtown people mover (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

Sitka’s visitor season ended last week and the numbers indicate a healthy season for tourism in Sitka. Between large cruise ships and boutique excursions, Sitka saw 241 port calls in total.

Director of Tourism Sherry Aitken says the city lucked out with weather too. There was only one weather cancellation – in early May – due to rough seas. “That means that we got all of the promised ships that we were going to get, and we got a couple of extra ones. Some stuff happened to other Alaskan ports that allowed us to have some bigger ships too.”

One of those bigger ships is the Celebrity Millennium, a 2,000 passenger ship bound for Unalaska that came to Sitka instead. Sitka doesn’t have a firm passenger count, but Aitken estimates between 150,000 to 155,000 berths came to Sitka. Berths represents the number of beds aboard a ship.

Aitken said her season highlight was the piloting of a downtown shuttle by a group of local businesses.

The Assembly approved $10,000 from the visitor’s enhancement fund for the 30-day project. Sitka Tribe of Alaska provided a bus, which looped every 15-minutes through downtown with three stops on Lincoln Street and another at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Pat Kehoe coordinated the local business coalition in pursuing the shuttle, designed to be a free and easy means for passengers to explore downtown. “We found that people that had difficulties walking were probably our most frequent users. They really appreciated the chance to see the town and get a feel for things while they were waiting for another to happen,” Kehoe said.

Kehoe adds that the service was used a wide variety of visitors and is compiling her findings from the pilot project into a report for the Assembly. It’s possible the service could return again next summer, as more visitors make their way to the outer edge of Baranof Island and pay Sitka a visit.