Please sign in to post.

Juneau Alaska Over Tourism

Recently there was a lively discussion on this site about Amsterdam and concern about over tourism.

I came across this article about a similar problem in Juneau Alaska especially focussing on Mendenhall Glacier.

https://alaskapublic.org/2023/08/07/crammed-with-tourists-juneau-wonders-what-will-happen-as-mendenhall-glacier-recedes/

I attribute this to people living longer and healthier, more disposable income and costs of travel have fallen so that "ordinary" people like me can afford a plane ticket and even a cruise. Also people are more educated and hear about other places that they might want to visit.

The problem of over tourism is happening all over the world. I am thinking that the time is going to come when cities and maybe even countries will have to limit the numbers of visitors allowed in each day. Travelers are going to have to make a reservation to enter a city and or a country, not just a museum or restaurant.

Posted by
4098 posts

I'm no expert on Alaska and my only visit was via a cruise about 11 years ago, but I wonder if restrictions on tourism numbers would severely punish small business and people who depend on tourism. It's pretty remote and I'm guessing without cruiseships, the tourism numbers may drop significantly compared to places like Venice and Amsterdam where it's still easy to get to and to travel around.

I'm always interested in reading about creative solutions that locations come up with to combat over-tourism, but I'm also shaking my head in frustration at times when the the goal seems to be for politicians to score political points without real and well thought out ideas.