Policy options to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of cruise ship tourism in British Columbia

While cruise ship tourism contributes significantly to British Columbia's (BC) economy, it has significant environmental impacts. Compared to neighboring states in the United States (US), the current regulatory regime in the Canadian province incentives ships to discharge wastewater into sensitive coastal ecosystems. This paper discusses three policy options to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of cruise ship tourism in BC: Green Incentives, Regulatory Oversight, and Trans-Boundary Harmonization. Through financial incentives, the Green Incentives suite encourages cruise companies to invest in environmentally friendly practices and cleaner technologies. The Regulatory Oversight policy suite strengthens enforcements and oversight of regulations to ensure cruise companies comply with environmental regulations. Finally, the Trans-Boundary Harmonization suite aligns cruise ship regulations with the states neighboring BC including Washington, Alaska, and California.