Tourism

The conversation about the future of Skagway’s waterfront is taking a new turn. The city is exploring an economic partnership with a cruise company and suspending negotiations with White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad.

“We spent 23 years together in Alaska and just having an opportunity to come back and re-engage with folks and work on Alaska issues has just been a dream of mine,” said incoming Regional Forester David Schmid.

Era Helicopters has sold its flightseeing tour operations in Juneau and Denali National Park to NorthStar Trekking and TEMSCO, sister firms based in Ketchikan. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A proposed hatchery in a local tourist destination and fishing haven has some Sitkans and residents of Baranof Warm Springs up in arms.

Petersburg will start charging a $5-a-head fee for passengers on cruise ships in 2019. Petersburg’s borough assembly gave final approval Monday to the new charge, despite a lawsuit over a similar fee in Juneau and concerns from the cruise ship industry.

Passenger fees total about $45 million a year statewide, said John Binkley, president of Cruise Lines International Association Alaska. He said pooling that would allow other cities to boost their industries, too.