Ketchikan visitor arrivals are dominated by cruise travel in the available May–September seasonal estimates. Visit Ketchikan reports total visitor estimates from 2008 through 2018, cruise passenger figures through 2019, and separate airline and Alaska Marine Highway ferry counts from 2014 through 2018. The measures describe different arrival or port-activity categories and should not be added together.
Contents
- Total estimated visitors
- Cruise ships and port stops
- Cruise passenger arrivals
- Airline visitor arrivals
- Alaska Marine Highway ferry visitors
- How to read the measures
Total estimated visitors
Visit Ketchikan’s Visitor Statistics page reports estimated total visitors for each May–September visitor season. The series begins at 986,369 visitors in 2008 and remains close to one million through the next several seasons.
| Visitor season | Estimated total visitors |
|---|---|
| 2008 May–September | 986,369 |
| 2009 May–September | 980,728 |
| 2010 May–September | 871,961 |
| 2011 May–September | 890,327 |
| 2012 May–September | 938,296 |
| 2013 May–September | 990,804 |
| 2014 May–September | 920,844 |
| 2015 May–September | 983,150 |
| 2016 May–September | 990,293 |
| 2017 May–September | 1,099,464 |
| 2018 May–September | 1,119,271 |
The lowest reported total in this period was 871,961 visitors during the 2010 season. The highest was 1,119,271 during 2018. The 2017 estimate was 1,099,464, so both 2017 and 2018 were above one million estimated visitors. These are seasonal estimates, not calendar-year totals, and the geography is Ketchikan as represented by the Visit Ketchikan series.
The year-to-year pattern is uneven. The estimated total declined from 986,369 in 2008 to 980,728 in 2009, then to 871,961 in 2010. It rose to 890,327 in 2011, 938,296 in 2012, and 990,804 in 2013. The estimate then fell to 920,844 in 2014 before increasing to 983,150 in 2015, 990,293 in 2016, 1,099,464 in 2017, and 1,119,271 in 2018.
Visit Ketchikan describes these figures as visitor estimates compiled from a variety of sources and does not guarantee their accuracy. That qualification matters when comparing seasons: the numbers are useful for understanding the reported scale and direction of tourism activity, but they should not be treated as a direct census of every person entering the area.
Cruise ships and port stops
The same Visit Ketchikan source separates the number of cruise ships received from the number of cruise ship stops. A ship count is therefore not the same thing as a stop count. Across the reported seasons, ship stops were much higher than the number of ships because the measures represent different aspects of cruise activity.
| Visitor season | Cruise ships received | Cruise ship stops |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 May–September | 37 | 502 |
| 2009 May–September | 36 | 496 |
| 2010 May–September | 26 | 427 |
| 2011 May–September | 30 | 449 |
| 2012 May–September | 36 | 470 |
| 2013 May–September | 40 | 505 |
| 2014 May–September | 39 | 492 |
| 2015 May–September | 38 | 496 |
| 2016 May–September | 38 | 489 |
| 2017 May–September | 43 | 507 |
| 2018 May–September | 40 | 504 |
Ketchikan received 26 cruise ships during the 2010 May–September season, the lowest ship count in the series. The highest was 43 ships in 2017. Cruise ship stops ranged from 427 in 2010 to 507 in 2017. The 2018 season recorded 40 ships and 504 stops, while 2013 recorded 40 ships and 505 stops.
The port-stop series stayed relatively close to 500 in several seasons even when the ship count changed. Reported stops were 502 in 2008, 496 in 2009, 427 in 2010, 449 in 2011, and 470 in 2012. They reached 505 in 2013, then measured 492 in 2014, 496 in 2015, 489 in 2016, 507 in 2017, and 504 in 2018. These figures describe cruise ship activity during the May–September visitor season; they do not state how long each ship stayed or how many passengers disembarked at every stop.
Cruise passenger arrivals
Cruise passenger arrivals provide the clearest measure of the scale of cruise-based visitor traffic in this dataset. Visit Ketchikan reports 941,910 cruise passengers for the 2008 May–September season and 1,073,923 for 2018. The source also reports a 2019 cruise passenger figure, even though the 2019 row leaves the airline, ferry, and total visitor fields blank.
| Visitor season | Cruise passengers |
|---|---|
| 2008 May–September | 941,910 |
| 2009 May–September | 937,419 |
| 2010 May–September | 828,929 |
| 2011 May–September | 844,412 |
| 2012 May–September | 894,320 |
| 2013 May–September | 954,685 |
| 2014 May–September | 884,503 |
| 2015 May–September | 944,500 |
| 2016 May–September | 948,059 |
| 2017 May–September | 1,059,200 |
| 2018 May–September | 1,073,923 |
| 2019 May–September | 1,188,915 |
The lowest reported cruise passenger total was 828,929 in 2010. Cruise passenger arrivals then rose to 844,412 in 2011, 894,320 in 2012, and 954,685 in 2013. They fell to 884,503 in 2014, followed by 944,500 in 2015 and 948,059 in 2016. The count exceeded one million in 2017, at 1,059,200, and reached 1,073,923 in 2018. The 2019 figure was 1,188,915.
The cruise passenger measure is separate from the estimated total visitor measure. For example, the 2018 season has 1,073,923 reported cruise passengers and 1,119,271 estimated total visitors. Those figures are not two groups to combine; they are separate reported measures with different labels. Similarly, the 2019 cruise passenger count does not establish a 2019 total visitor count because Visit Ketchikan left that field blank.
Airline visitor arrivals
Airline visitor arrivals are available for five May–September seasons, from 2014 through 2018. Visit Ketchikan reports 28,284 airline visitors in 2014 and 37,939 in 2018.
| Visitor season | Airline visitors |
|---|---|
| 2014 May–September | 28,284 |
| 2015 May–September | 32,500 |
| 2016 May–September | 35,904 |
| 2017 May–September | 36,931 |
| 2018 May–September | 37,939 |
The reported airline count increased in every season shown: 28,284 in 2014, 32,500 in 2015, 35,904 in 2016, 36,931 in 2017, and 37,939 in 2018. Within this five-season series, 2018 had the highest airline visitor count.
These numbers should be read as a distinct category of visitors, not as a replacement for total arrivals. They also should not be combined with cruise passengers or ferry visitors without a defined method for handling overlap. The source identifies the figures as estimates compiled from a variety of sources and does not guarantee accuracy.
Alaska Marine Highway ferry visitors
Alaska Marine Highway ferry visitors form a smaller, separately reported category in the available data. Visit Ketchikan lists ferry visitor counts for the 2014 through 2018 May–September seasons.
| Visitor season | Alaska Marine Highway ferry visitors |
|---|---|
| 2014 May–September | 8,057 |
| 2015 May–September | 6,150 |
| 2016 May–September | 6,300 |
| 2017 May–September | 3,333 |
| 2018 May–September | 7,409 |
The ferry series begins at 8,057 visitors in 2014. It declined to 6,150 in 2015 and changed slightly to 6,300 in 2016. The reported count was 3,333 in 2017, the lowest of the five seasons, before rising to 7,409 in 2018. The highest reported ferry count in this period was 8,057 in 2014.
The 2018 ferry figure is a ferry-specific estimate and is not an adjustment to the total visitor estimate. The same applies to the airline figures and cruise passenger figures. Each category is best used to describe a channel of reported visitor activity, while the total series gives the broader estimated seasonal measure.
How to read the measures
The statistics answer different questions about Ketchikan’s visitor season:
- Estimated total visitors describe the broad seasonal visitor estimate reported for May through September.
- Cruise passengers describe the reported passenger volume associated with cruise arrivals.
- Cruise ships received count ships, while cruise ship stops count port calls or stops.
- Airline visitors describe the reported airline-arrival category.
- Alaska Marine Highway ferry visitors describe the reported ferry-arrival category.
For comparisons, keep the period consistent. A 2018 May–September figure should be compared with another May–September figure, not with an annual total or a single month. Keep the geography consistent as well: these are Ketchikan measures presented by Visit Ketchikan, rather than a statewide Alaska visitor series.
The 2019 data require particular care. Visit Ketchikan reports 1,188,915 cruise passengers for the 2019 May–September season, but the airline, ferry, and total visitor fields are blank. A blank field is not a zero, so the available figures do not support a complete 2019 arrival profile. The 2019 cruise passenger number can stand on its own as a reported cruise measure, but it cannot be used to infer total visitors, airline visitors, or ferry visitors.
Taken together, the reported seasons show a Ketchikan visitor economy with substantial cruise activity, total seasonal estimates that reached more than one million in 2017 and 2018, rising airline visitor counts from 2014 through 2018, and ferry estimates that varied considerably from season to season. The source’s estimate qualification remains part of the interpretation: these figures indicate reported scale and change, while not guaranteeing exact counts.