A chat with a guide in Talkeetna shifted my view on cruise ships

I was having a beer with a guy named Carl who runs glacier hikes, and he pointed out that the big cruise lines bring over 1.2 million visitors a year to our state. I always thought they were just a blight, crowding the ports. But he argued that without that volume, a lot of the smaller air taxis and tour operators he works with in the Interior would struggle to stay open. It made me reconsider the whole economic chain. Has anyone else had a local business change their mind about the tourism trade?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah1982mo agoMost Upvoted

Had a regular at my bar who runs a fishing charter, and he says the same thing about the weekend crowds.

brown.simon2mo ago

Maybe those weekend crowds are just people who work regular jobs all week.

stone.jesse1mo ago

Nah, I gotta disagree. I see way too many people out on weekdays too. It's not just the 9-to-5 crowd filling places up. Feels like a lot of folks have flexible schedules now or just work different shifts. The whole idea that everyone is stuck in an office Monday to Friday seems pretty outdated. The crowds are just spread out more.