A few years ago, the State of Alaska began imposing a relatively large tax on cruise passengers with the idea that local communities would get a portion of it. At the time, the attitude of most Alaskans at the community level was that they held all the cards and if people wanted to come to Alaska, they (and the cruise lines) would just have to pay it.
It didn't work out so well because the cruise lines reduced capacity, and it really began to pinch the state's capacity before the state made up with the cruise lines and the capacity was restored.
Now the state legislature is considering setting up another confrontation, indirectly. The difference is that this time, if the ships leave, they probably won't be back.
The complete story appeared in the April 6 edition of Cruise News Daily.
