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Haines tourism director: American Cruise Lines still planning Haines calls; marketing and events set for March
Summary
The Haines Borough tourism director reported a largely steady season, said American Cruise Lines is leaving a dock project but still plans Haines calls, outlined marketing in Whitehorse and CLIA outreach, and previewed a March free‑ride event and awards banquet.
The tourism director provided a year‑end verbal report on the department’s work and upcoming events, saying the annual visitor planner is in production and that marketing efforts now include radio advertising in Whitehorse and outreach at the cruise industry CLIA conference in Anchorage.
The report said event logistics for a multi‑day ‘free ride’ festival are under way: a portion of the event team is expected to arrive March 8, with the main event scheduled March 13–20, and the borough will host a welcome beverage at Chilkat Inlet Retreat and an awards dinner at the fairgrounds. “So that's a big project, and it's really a beautiful work of art,” the tourism director said, describing the planner and promotional materials. The director added the Haines Avalanche Center will host the welcome beverage and Chilkat dancers will perform.
The director addressed local concern that American Cruise Lines (ACL) might be leaving Haines. “We have not lost American Cruise Lines,” the tourism director said. The director said ACL is withdrawing from the Letnikov Dock project but is not abandoning calls to Haines, and that the company has ordered ships with a target of five Alaska vessels by 2029. “They are pulling out of that project, but not pulling out of Haines,” the director said.
Board members asked how the Whitehorse advertising was funded; the director said the cost comes from the tourism marketing budget. Members also raised logistics for visiting athletes and film crews; the director said most lodging is booked at the Captain’s Choice and the Aspen and that some crew will be billeted outside town while a setup crew will be staged locally near helicopter operations.
The tourism director said the department has been meeting regularly with partners to manage transportation logistics and community outreach and will continue to coordinate with the assembly; the written year‑end report was emailed to board members shortly before the meeting and will be included in the packet for the assembly. “I wanted to make sure you had it available before it got brought to the assembly,” the director said.
The director did not give exact advertising spend figures during the verbal update; board members were told the ads are part of the existing marketing line in the department budget. Staff pointed the board to the written report for detailed numbers and said the full report will appear in the assembly packet.
