{"id":7,"date":"2026-05-14T13:15:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=7"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:15:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:15:41","slug":"cruise-traffic-in-haines-could-skyrocket-under-potential-deal-with-major-cruise-port-operator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=7","title":{"rendered":"Cruise traffic in Haines could skyrocket under potential deal with major cruise port operator"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The number of cruise ship passengers in Haines could more than quadruple if the borough leases its largest dock to an international cruise port operator.<\/p>\n

Read more Hello world!<\/a><\/p>\n

The Haines Borough is exploring a partnership with Global Ports Holding, which is interested in taking over long-term management of the Port Chilkoot Dock, the Chilkat Valley News reported last week<\/u>.<\/p>\n

The Turkish-owned company has offices in London, Barcelona, Istanbul and the Bahamas, and manages 35 cruise ports around the world. A lease in Haines would be its first in Alaska.<\/p>\n

Haines Borough Manager Alekka Fullerton said in an email earlier this week that she has no specifics about what a lease might entail, but the community should have more information after a town hall about the issue on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

A company executive said in an interview on Tuesday that details would be hammered out during lease negotiations if the borough moves forward. But he added that one outcome of a deal would likely be far more cruise ship passengers than the community has ever seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we could achieve 300,000 in five years, that would be awesome,\u201d said Colin Murphy, Global Ports Holding\u2019s head of development. \u201cBut it’s all a question of managing the passengers properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that figure is a \u201cpotential goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three hundred thousand people per summer would be a major increase. This year, the small town is expecting just 67,000 cruise ship passengers \u2014 less than a quarter of that five-year projection.<\/p>\n

Murphy acknowledged that 300,000 would be ambitious. That\u2019s in part because the cruise ship dock can\u2019t \u2013 and even with new investment, wouldn\u2019t \u2013 accommodate the largest ships in the industry. But it\u2019s also because there\u2019s only one dock that can accommodate big ships.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaines has kind of a natural limitation,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got one berth, there\u2019s a short season. But we think we can attract more ships here. Not an outrageous amount of ships, but enough to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy also said it would take years to reach that number \u2014 and that it would require new infrastructure, like more local tours to better distribute people around the community without overwhelming certain areas.<\/p>\n

He mentioned the Chilkoot River, a popular bear-viewing spot that draws large crowds<\/u> in the summertime. The area is infamous for heavy traffic and bad bear-viewing behavior by visitors.<\/p>\n

Murphy named two reasons for the company\u2019s interest in Haines.<\/p>\n

\u201cNumber one, when I first came here and I drove in, I thought this must be one of the most beautiful ports to enter on a ship that I’ve seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the second factor is the potential for growth here. He said 70,000 passengers just isn\u2019t enough to support most businesses and tour operators \u2013 or to encourage new ones to open. Skagway, by comparison, saw 1.3 million passengers<\/u> in 2025, according to borough data.<\/p>\n

Haines tourism director Reba Hylton echoed Murphy’s point, noting that sometimes the community sometimes goes a week or even two without seeing a ship with more than 200 passengers. Then a ship might come in with 3,000 passengers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not a sustainable business model,\u201d Hylton said. \u201cHow do you staff for that? How can you make a profit from that? How can you have regular hours, when that is what we\u2019re having to deal with?\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Hylton acknowledged that 300,000 passengers would be a major change. She did some rough math and said that number could work out to 2,500-passenger ships in town, six days a week.<\/p>\n

Murphy said he first came to town a couple of weeks ago for some early conversations with assembly members and other people in the community, and that most of that dialogue has been \u201creally very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m sure there are some people that have concerns. That’s normal,\u201d he added. \u201cSo, you know, let’s give them a chance to hear what we have to say, and then vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also emphasized that an eventual lease agreement with the borough would dictate the level of growth \u2014 and that whether there\u2019s a lease at all hinges on the community\u2019s openness to the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t want to go anywhere where we’re not welcome,\u201d he said. \u201cWe think we can make a material difference here in terms of economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The town hall is scheduled for Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in the assembly chambers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Global Ports Holding wants to lease Haines\u2019 large cruise ship dock, in a move that could boost cruise passengers to 300,000 per year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCruise traffic in Haines could skyrocket under potential deal with major cruise port operator - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cruise traffic in Haines could skyrocket under potential deal with major cruise port operator - 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