Alaska Native corporations are heavily invested in cruise tourism with major dock developments and shoreside facilities for passengers.

Huna Totem, the village corporation for Angoon, has been operating its Icy Strait Point cruise ship destination since 2004 and expects 700,000 visitors this summer and a $20 million injection into Angoon’s economy in payroll, taxes and other spending.

The corporation also is a partner in a smaller cruise ship facility at Klawock, on Prince of Wales Island. This year there will be 60 ships visiting Klawock, mostly smaller and medium-size vessels.

The Klawock destination started operations in 2024 with just a few cruise ship stops.

Klawock Heenya, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act village corporation for Klawock, developed the visitor destination with Na-Dena, a joint-venture tourism development company founded by Huna Totem and Doyon, the regional Native corporation for Interior Alaska.

The three corporations created a partnership called Klawock Island Ventures, modeled on Huna Totem’s Icy Strait Point.

Doyon also co-owns Portage Glacier Cruises in partnership with Huna Totem, under Na-Dena. The operation runs a sightseeing boat on Portage Lake, just south of Anchorage.

Huna Totem’s newest and most ambitious project is Ak’w Landing in downtown Juneau. This will be Juneau’s fifth cruise ship dock. The $150 million project is scheduled for completion in 2028. The corporation is planning shoreside amenities like paths for walks, restaurants and shops.

Also in Juneau, Goldbelt, the Alaska Native village corporation for Juneau, is in preliminary development of its Goldbelt Aani Cruise Port on 251 acres of Goldbelt-owned land on the west side of Douglas Island, across Gastineau Channel from Juneau.

Goldbelt has been working on ways of developing its West Douglas land for years.

Not all tourism infrastructure projects have gone well, however. A partnership between Goldbelt and the City and Borough of Juneau to install a gondola at the city’s Eaglecrest ski area on Douglas Island has come apart due to major cost increases on the project.

Goldbelt invested $10 million in the project, which was planned to make money by taking summer tourists to the top of the ski area for scenic views — turning the winter-only attraction into a summer destination.

The municipally owned ski area had planned to refurbish and install a used gondola system it purchased in Austria. But shipping costs from Austria increased, as did U.S. tariffs on the imported goods, and the gondola needed more parts and repairs than expected.

As costs ballooned, the municipality decided last month to cancel the project.

The entire project was estimated in 2022 at a total cost of $9 million but was pegged at as much as $37 million this year.

The City and Borough of Juneau now owes Goldbelt about $12 million to cancel the partnership — the Native corporation’s original investment, plus interest.