Several news outlets are reporting that City Officials in Ketchikan are trying to convince cruise lines to schedule longer visits in the Southeast Alaska city.  Of the three primary Alaska cities that cruise ships call on, Ketchikan has the shortest stays according to the Downtown Steering Committee.

According to one downtown shop owner and Committee member the time individual ships spend in Ketchikan has shrunk over the past few years, which reduces the amount of money cruise passengers spend there.  As a result That means less sales tax for the local governments, and fewer job openings.

The Committee says that many of the ships this season will stay about six hours in Ketchikan, which gives most passengers enough time for one tour and nothing else.  By comparison the worldwide average port stay is between eight and 10 hours.  If the cruise ships stayed a total of 1,000 extra hours in Ketchikan over a season, the Committe believes it could bring up to $1.8 million more in sales tax.

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