Ketchikan is expected to see over 1.6 million cruise ship passengers this summer. That’s more than the island has ever seen and up over 100,000 from last year. The Visitors Bureau expects 58 ships this summer, compared to 48 ships in 2025.
Laurie Booyse is the city’s tourism manager. She acts as a liaison between the city and the local tourism industry tourism partners, cruise lines, local vendors, and the community. Booyse says that in the off season, she works with the city council on ordinances that will help the city prepare for spikes in visitors.
“We are seeing some bigger ships come in this upcoming summer, and that is going to mean that our infrastructure is going to be affected a little bit differently,” Booyse said. “But as a city, we are prepared to do what we need to do to make sure that people stay safe and that the downtown area stays clean.”
One proposal, which the council has been discussing for several months, is constructing a public bathroom in the main downtown area on Creek Street. But that isn’t expected to happen in time for this summer.
The number of ships visiting the island hasn’t been increasing much — the highest year on record was 54 ships in 2022 — but the capacity of the ships has been steadily increasing, Booyse says. The largest cruise ship set to visit can carry over 4,000 passengers.
With Juneau’s passenger cap going into effect this summer, the First City could see nearly as many cruise ship passengers as the capital. Juneau’s Visitor Industry Director Alix Pierce says 1.69 million are expected in Juneau this coming season. And, she says, the cap has led to increased visitation in Ketchikan. Juneau cancelled a few Royal Caribbean calls to meet the caps, and they ended up shifting to Ketchikan’s Ward Cove, instead.
Booyse says that she expects the island will see more increases than just cruise ship passenger this summer. She says in recent years, the number of airline and ferry visitors has crept up significantly. And the visitors who come by ferry or plane stay for multiple days and are looking for a wider variety of experiences.
“So they want to kind of dive deeper into the community,” she said. “You may see them coming to say the Monthly Grind, or going to Fish Pirate’s Daughter, or experiencing more of those kinds of things.”
Booyse says with more visitors staying for longer periods of time, the community needs to decide how — and where — they want to develop across the island rather than just in the downtown area. Some of those developments are already in the works at Ward Cove, with existing downtown businesses expected to expand out north as early as May.
The first cruise ship of the season is expected to dock in Ketchikan on Sunday, April 12.
