The number of cruise ship passengers in Haines could more than quadruple if the borough leases its largest dock to an international cruise port operator.
The Haines Borough is exploring a partnership with Global Ports Holding, which is interested in taking over long-term management of the Port Chilkoot Dock, the Chilkat Valley News reported last week.
The Turkish-owned company has offices in London, Barcelona, Istanbul and the Bahamas, and manages 35 cruise ports around the world. A lease in Haines would be its first in Alaska.
Haines Borough Manager Alekka Fullerton said in an email earlier this week that she has no specifics about what a lease might entail, but the community should have more information after a town hall about the issue on Thursday evening.
A company executive said in an interview on Tuesday that details would be hammered out during lease negotiations if the borough moves forward. But he added that one outcome of a deal would likely be far more cruise ship passengers than the community has ever seen.
“If we could achieve 300,000 in five years, that would be awesome,” said Colin Murphy, Global Ports Holding’s head of development. “But it’s all a question of managing the passengers properly.”
He said that figure is a “potential goal.”
Three hundred thousand people per summer would be a major increase. This year, the small town is expecting just 67,000 cruise ship passengers — less than a quarter of that five-year projection.
Murphy acknowledged that 300,000 would be ambitious. That’s in part because the cruise ship dock can’t – and even with new investment, wouldn’t – accommodate the largest ships in the industry. But it’s also because there’s only one dock that can accommodate big ships.
“Haines has kind of a natural limitation,” he said. “You’ve got one berth, there’s a short season. But we think we can attract more ships here. Not an outrageous amount of ships, but enough to make a difference.”
Murphy also said it would take years to reach that number — and that it would require new infrastructure, like more local tours to better distribute people around the community without overwhelming certain areas.
He mentioned the Chilkoot River, a popular bear-viewing spot that draws large crowds in the summertime. The area is infamous for heavy traffic and bad bear-viewing behavior by visitors.
Murphy named two reasons for the company’s interest in Haines.
“Number one, when I first came here and I drove in, I thought this must be one of the most beautiful ports to enter on a ship that I’ve seen,” he said.
But the second factor is the potential for growth here. He said 70,000 passengers just isn’t enough to support most businesses and tour operators – or to encourage new ones to open. Skagway, by comparison, saw 1.3 million passengers in 2025, according to borough data.
Haines tourism director Reba Hylton echoed Murphy’s point, noting that sometimes the community sometimes goes a week or even two without seeing a ship with more than 200 passengers. Then a ship might come in with 3,000 passengers.
“That’s not a sustainable business model,” Hylton said. “How do you staff for that? How can you make a profit from that? How can you have regular hours, when that is what we’re having to deal with?”
Still, Hylton acknowledged that 300,000 passengers would be a major change. She did some rough math and said that number could work out to 2,500-passenger ships in town, six days a week.
Murphy said he first came to town a couple of weeks ago for some early conversations with assembly members and other people in the community, and that most of that dialogue has been “really very positive.”
“I’m sure there are some people that have concerns. That’s normal,” he added. “So, you know, let’s give them a chance to hear what we have to say, and then vice versa.”
He also emphasized that an eventual lease agreement with the borough would dictate the level of growth — and that whether there’s a lease at all hinges on the community’s openness to the idea.
“We don’t want to go anywhere where we’re not welcome,” he said. “We think we can make a material difference here in terms of economic development.”
The town hall is scheduled for Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in the assembly chambers.
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