Summer usually means dodging tourists downtown, if you're a pedestrian. If you're a driver, you can't dodge them; you must either sit tolerantly as they stand in mid-street snapping photos, or be irate and lean on the car horn to let them know this is actually a very rude (and illegal) thing to do here. It's one of the main reasons some Sitkans avoid downtown altogether, the tourists block the sidewalks AND the streets. If you come to visit, be considerate.
Not everyone is feels indebted to the tourism industry for its shot in the arm to Sitka's economy. Some feel only a handful of businessmen benefit.
Cruisecritic.com's review of Sitka puts a pretty face on tourism; it talks about a Sawmill Cove Industrial Park area in the context of Sitka's ability to rebound from economic slumps.
Many locals see a shady side to the property being GIVEN to a pocketful of millionaires by the city father's who had to find a legal loophole to get away with that -- an operation that hires Russian workers, runs huge trailors back and forth on the rutted highway, and benefits very few Sitkans.
Another industry that gets whitewashed is the Charter Boat operations that deplete our fisheries, is not so well regulated, and of whom most have million dollar houses in Sitka, and take their millions out of state. Many locals believe the charter operators lie and rarely get caught (but some do) on the tickets and reporting. They were SO UP IN ARMS when the city asked for a $10 tax per freezer box shipped out on Alaska Airlines. They said it would hurt their industry. Imagine: people who spend thousands coming to Alaska, and then thousands more to go fishing NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD TEN MORE DOLLARS???
So before thinking how big of a favor your tourism dollars are to the locals, realize that some of the locals don't believe they see any benefit. Try to get a view of some of the locals. Ask THEM questions, not just your tour guides who work for that handful of business men.
