holland america bringing "adult" cruise soon (showing, jobs)

[Rance]

I'm not trying to be mean. Believe me I've heard some of the locals in my area complaining about outsiders coming and starting a business. All while they had every opportunity to start one themselves. I think they were more mad because they did not think of it first!

[jrmontag]

I figured you people would enjoy this

Nude Hiking in the Yukon & Alaska

[Marylandkitten]

It's all fine and dandy until someone gets a BAD case of poison oak on their "Big Ed", then someone gets hurt!!!

...does he at least allow himself to wear shoes?

[jrmontag]

"Bare Country"


christ.....

[Metlakatla]

Ok then...

But don't your locals have every opportunity to invest or start a business catering to the tourists? Many do in my area. Sure we have our share of the outsiders...but we have alot of locals doing very well in the tourist industry. It really does not matter to me who owns or runs a business. c

Easy enough to say and...many of them have. And many of them have been put out of business by outsiders who can and will pay higher rents and undercut prices by importing junk from China. And that's why parts of downtown Juneau et al resemble little Tijuana.

There is a lady here who had a nice little clothing store; her retail space was rented out to a jewelry store this year (an offshore, cruise line owned one, as most of them are--and most of them are corporate tax write offs), and she is just one example. The same sort of thing has happened to locals all over the port cities. I guess that's the sort of thing that really "bothers the locals", especially the ones who did think of it first.

Locals who are involved in the tourism industry tend to do better in the areas that aren't dominated by the ships, and there is a hell of a lot of difference between the Kenai and the Inside Passage in that respect.

So, to answer this question:

But don't your locals have every opportunity to invest or start a business catering to the tourists?

Not anymore, no. Kinda like how the average mom and pop store hasn't got much of a chance when its located next to a Wal*Mart.

There are some locals with established businesses who are doing all right but starting anything new would be a very risky deal.

And I'm not trying to be mean either but the naivety displayed here makes me laugh, sort of.


My comments weren't about some "guy" coming up from the lower 48 and starting a business. More power to them if they can make it work. But in the port cities they're up against giant corporations that don't even have their roots in the United States.

[Rance]

Call me naieve...thats fine. I don't live in a port town and know nothing of the events that take place as far as that stuff goes. It would bug the hell out of me if the locals were buying the Chinese stuff tho. I was more asking than trying to be rude or obnoxious. If your not happy with the situation...can't the locals get together and get with the city about it? Or is the city involved with leasing or selling to these outsider/big corp businesses?

[Metlakatla]

I know that you weren't trying to be rude. But it's rather a sore spot with some people in this part of the state. To blame the locals for not thinking of it first can hit that sore spot pretty hard. But I'm fairly dispassionate on that issue on a personal level because I have less than no desire to own or operate a business that caters to the cruise ship clientele.

Anyone wanting to start a small business in a port city would be smart to think how they could best serve the locals, the summer workers, and the off the beaten path travelers. There's still somewhat of a niche for that. A few of that nature have started where I live and the only one I see surviving into next season is a very basic restaurant who's owner/operator has made it clear what his intended demographic is. But if an outsider wants his space next year and is willing to pay twice as much for it....who knows.

Some of the citizens of Ketchikan are in the very preliminary stages of trying to put some sort of municipal legislation together that would curtail the number of offshore jewelry stores allowed in the downtown area.

Or is the city involved with leasing or selling to these outsider/big corp businesses?

The former mayor of one of the port cities is also one of the landlords who gets the high rents from the jewelry stores. One of the "local leading businessmen" is a major exporter and retailer of chinese junk. I imagine that the other port cities have some similar scenarios.

On a side note, we get a lot of cruise ship passengers who have unkind things to say about how everything is made in China and who sincerely want something authentic from Alaska to take home as a remembrance, and that sort of thing is still widely available. It's good to see that they're paying attention, now if they'll just pay the price. Because you cannot get Alaskan art at Chinese prices.

On another side note, the reason some of the cruises they're on are so reasonable is because the foreigners who work on the ships aren't subject to U.S. pay scales.

[DannyL]

I can't believe that boat came here and nobody noticed me there. There I was, waving, wearing my Xtra-Tuffs and clean scooby-doo boxers.
I even brushed my tooth really,really good for the occasion.

[DannyL]

Downtown Juneau is a disgrace. That's the cleanest thing I can say about it on this forum.

[Metlakatla]

Oh hell, I noticed you, Danny and I've got pictures.