An Alaska Native corporation is pursuing plans to build a second cruise ship dock in Whittier, potentially bringing more than 100,000 new visitors each summer to the tiny town on Prince William Sound
a cruise-based tourism industry in Hoonah, a Southeast Alaska village. It’s now proposing to build a 1,200-foot dock to moor ships in Whittier at the picturesque head of Passage Canal, about an hour’s drive southeast of Anchorage.Head of the Baywith a boardwalk for housing and shops, a gondola, a trolley as well as a new cultural center, boat harbor and fish hatchery.focused only on the first phase.
Some who live and work in Whittier are skeptical of the idea, however. They worry more cruise ships and guests will hurt the town’s scenic setting and overcrowd the harbor and roads, including the only road out of town through the one-lane, World War II-era Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.The existing dock in the community, owned by Princess Cruises, brought about 60,000 travelers to Whittier in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic haltedThe Island Princess was docked at Whittier in June 2019.
The project was conceived last year. Huna Totem was looking for a tourism opportunity in Alaska when it settled on Whittier, Richardson said. The first phase could boost Whittier revenues by $2.6 million, or 40%, Dickason said. That could help upgrade infrastructure that in some cases dates back to World War II, when the city was a military supply post, he said.Whittier Seafood office manager Cathy McCord in their fish processing plant on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.
Dean Rand, a longtime resident who operates Discovery Voyages with a 65-foot touring boat that can sleep a dozen guests, said Whittier doesn’t need more cruise ships.
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