LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which  distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming.  (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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28 Mar 2024 15:02

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28 Mar 2024 14:57

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28 Mar 2024 14:52

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28 Mar 2024 14:50

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27 Mar 2024 12:26

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

Cruise Line Official: It Was a Good Year

By SARAH C. GIBSON
Sitka Sentinel Staff Writer
    Economic studies show tourism is the top private industry in Southeast Alaska, now exceeding fisheries and government jobs.
    Ralph Samuels, a top executive with Holland America Group, confirmed the cruise industry’s role in the upswing, at an Alaska Chamber of Commerce panel here on Wednesday.
    The cruise industry is “doing great,” Samuels said. “Tourism is the bright spot in the economy.”
    Data showing the dominance of the tourism industry in Southeast was presented at an economic development conference in Haines last month.
    In his remarks at the Chamber meeting, Samuels cautioned that local tax increases could stall that trend, saying that increasing cruise ship costs harm Alaska as a brand.
    “Our competition for getting visitors to come here is the globe,” Samuels said. He expanded later in comments to the Sentinel, pointing out that passengers have their pick of summer cruises in the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, and the Caribbean, not just Alaska.w
    He said his company currently is negotiating with towns elsewhere in Alaska that want to increase the rate for docking a ship or raise bed taxes.
    For its part, the Holland America Group is reducing its environmental impact by putting stack scrubbers on some engines on every ship and using state-of-the-art wastewater treatment systems, Samuels said.

    The cruise ship industry projects a record-breaking year for visitors to Alaska in 2018 and 2019, although the numbers coming to Sitka may not change. This year Holland America Line brought 99,700 passengers to Sitka; next year, that number is projected to be down by 19,000 because the Oosterdam is being replaced temporarily by a smaller ship. But overall, seven more cruise ship port calls are projected for Sitka next summer.
    Samuels told the Sentinel that while Holland America hopes to bring more passengers to Sitka, he couldn’t guarantee they would all spend money downtown.
    “We bring the guests here and they decide what they’ll do,” he said. “Statistically speaking, in other towns when you dock rather than tender, more people get off the ship,” he said. “As for how to force people to get off the ship? I don’t know.”

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.

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