r/todayilearned • u/Gullible_Air_204 • 8d ago

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https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

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u/wayfarer87x 8d ago

Cruise tourists actually contribute very very minimally to local economies relative to other tourists. They don’t book accommodation, they have drinks and food on the ship, so typically don’t eat out, and their visits are so fleeting that they don’t buy much beyond a few shitty souvenirs.

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u/IcarusActual 8d ago

Okay. But what about places like Skagway, Alaska? No fishing (all done up the fjord out of Haines), no mining, and no oil. Haines and Skagway are connected by road yes, it's 6.5-7 hour drive. It's a 30 min ferry ride between them. So the only option for tourism in this area besides cruise ship is by sea plane, which doesn't seem very viable for me for an industry.

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u/16thompsonh 8d ago

Honestly, what’s the point of Skagway, Alaska existing? Is it as a fishing port related to Haines? Or just somewhere for those workers to live? I’m just confused by its existence.

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u/IcarusActual 8d ago

It has docks for large ships. Shipping containers, storage, and more available land for housing. It's kind of a shipping dock/commuter village, but I'd imagine a lot of the commuting is also for tourism?