We All Know How It Ends
Tourism: We All Know How It Ends
We all know how tourism will end in Sitka. These days it is hard to tell whether it will be with a bang or a whimper, but right now the good times seem to be rolling. However, sooner or later internal city issues or external —state, national, or global issues will catch up with us. As always, the takers move on and the locals will clean-up and pay for the mess.
Whether the cause will be from within when the cruise tourists “and their cash stop benefitting residents and instead cause harm by degrading historic sites, overwhelming infrastructure and making life markedly more difficult for those who live [here},” or external events such inflation that cause the degradation of disposable income leading to a decline in cruise tourist visits and spending, problems in our local supply chain, the cost of fossil fuels, or just plain old-fashioned war and pestilence—the list of possible external issues that could effect Sitka is long.
No one I know is against tourism. When I speak to the tourism advocate crowd, I do feel like I’m talking to the Russians of the 1700s telling them to harvest fur bearing animals in a sustainable way—than again, if they listened to me back then everyone here would be speaking Russian today. Intelligent moderation is the key to sustainability.
What I see is Sitka losing its identity, and it is being shaped into a crass tourist destination. Believe it or not, Sitka was a most desired destination before the onslaught began because of its natural charms and cultural allures. We didn’t need e-bikes, buses, and sugary things. But now through arcane rules, we are funding our own demise. It doesn’t have to be. We actually can have it all. A vibrant livable community in-season, and honestly without gimmicks earning the cash from willing, happy tourists because we gave them something special—something that no other town in Southeast could give them. Remember, something that is rare is always more valuable. However, the first step to preserve and share our community is to recognize there is a problem. Capping the cruise tourist numbers would be a great first step.
Though This Is Photoshopped, It Is Very Close To The Truth. The Ship Is The Oasis Of The Seas Which Is World’s Largest Cruise Vessel And The City Is Venice.