A cohesive document outlining guidelines for the tourism industry in Wrangell is slowly coming together.
During a workshop last Friday, the Wrangell Convention and Visitor Bureau looked over a draft of its Tourism Best Management Practices statement. The planning document has been an ongoing project for the bureau for over a year now, covering guidelines for a variety of tourism-related matters including transportation, the use of hiking trails, restaurants and hospitality businesses.
Several other Southeast Alaska communities have similar plans, such as Juneau, to help ease tensions between the different businesses and operators in and around the tourism industry and the general community.
While Wrangell is not expecting a bustling tourist season this summer due to the pandemic's constraints on travelers, particularly larger cruise ships, bureau members still want to move the project forward.
"I was hoping to do it for this summer, and I think we still should even though we're not going to get any cruise ships because of CDC's (Centers for Disease Control) no-sail order staying on until November," said Carol Rushmore, Wrangell's economic development director.
Wrangell still expects smaller cruise ships to dock in town, such as UnCruise and Alaska Dream, but no foreign-flagged larger vessels, Rushmore said
As some examples of guidelines in the draft plan, "sightseeing vehicle drivers would agree not to impede normal traffic flow by slowing down or stopping in driving lanes for sightseeing opportunities."
Tour operators will agree to only use the vessel loading zone at Reliance Dock for active loading and unloading, and merchants "will be responsible for sweeping the sidewalk immediately in front of their establishment."
The city also would put together a list of phone numbers and email address for people to contact with any complaints
One point of discussion in the workshop related to practices for cruise ships when docked in town. According to the draft, cruise ships are expected to comply with state air emissions standards. Rushmore said Wrangell has nothing addressing cruise ship emissions in its local code, so the community relies on state laws.
The bureau also agreed on a point that small cruise vessels moored at the summer floats need to maximize dock space to accommodate as many vessels as possible.
Another point in the draft said cruise ships are expected to minimize loudspeaker announcements, whistle signals and onboard outdoor entertainment when docked in Wrangell, to limit noise. Rushmore asked if they even need to keep this point, but after some discussion the bureau agreed they should keep it in the document.
"I know a lot of other ports have complained," said Brenda Schwartz-Yeager.
No formal action was taken at the workshop. After the visitor bureau completes the draft, a public meeting will be scheduled to work with business owners for their input and to sign on to the best-practices agreement.
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