Bar Harbor (Maine USA) will see fewer cruise passengers in 2023 after a citizen initiative aimed at limiting passenger disembarkation passed at the polls.
With the tally of 1780 to 1273, voters placed a daily limit of 1000 cruisers allowed onshore in Bar Harbor. The initiative requires the town's harbormaster to create "a disembarking reservation system, a daily counting and tracking system for passengers and a violation reporting system."
A fine of US$100 per person will be imposed for every disembarking tourist over the daily limit.
The passage of the article is to override a different cruise ship management plan enacted by the port town. Representatives of the industry and a task force created by Bar Harbor negotiated an MoA/memorandum of agreement that focused on reducing the number of cruise vessels docked in the harbor per month rather than limiting passengers per day.
On November 17, 2020, Bar Harbor Town Council discussed the popular policy (for smaller seaports in the USA) to limit the annual number of cruise vessels due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. Before the cruise shipping industry's pause (since mid-March 2020), the port expected nearly 200 ship calls and 300,000+ passengers. However, the entire 2020 season was eventually canceled. By mid-November 2020, Bar Harbor ME had booked 150+ cruise ship dockings (scheduled port calls) for season 2021.
It is estimated that cruise tourists contribute USD 20+ million annually to Maine State's economy.