When cruisers stepped off the ship in Sitka, Alaska, many were immediately hassled and pressured by vendors selling floatplane rides, fishing trips, and boat tours, etc. The town’s officials worried that this was making a poor first impression for their town and set new restrictions for those selling excursions.
The new rules require that vendors stay in designated areas that are approximately five feet wide and are marked with yellow lines.
The move by Sitka’s officials may actually help the vendors increase business, since many cruise-goers prefer to look at different options and make their own decisions, void of an aggressive sales pitch. Having all the vendors in one place will allow passengers to see different options all at once rather than searching through a crowd of people for someone who looks legit.
The real winners will be the passengers who have already booked an excursion through the cruise line or through having done prior research have arranged their own trip, and now won’t have to deal with 10 different vendors pitching trips when they already have plans.
Seems like a good idea – we’ll see if any other cruise ports will follow suit.