Residents in the Alaska cruise port town of Sitka have resoundingly rejected a bill to restrict cruise ship operations.
The results are in for the special election this week, with 73% rejecting measures to limit the number of daily and annual cruise visitors.
Almost 3,000 residents cast their vote.
The ballot measure asked for a cap of 4,500 cruise visitors per day and a total of 300,000 each year.
It also required one day a week where no large cruise ships were permitted to dock.
The result was hailed by Chris McGraw, owner of the private Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal.
“It shows that the community understands the benefits of cruise tourism and that the proposed ballot initiative wasn’t the right answer at this time,” McGraw said.
However, McGraw said less stringent restrictions would be beneficial and welcomed by most residents.
The city of Sitka and Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal have inked a memorandum of understanding that includes a limit of 7,000 cruise passenger-per-day.
