John Kuhns of Sweet Home got a surprise when he booked a cruise to Alaska: His travel agent charged him a $50 fee just to visit the state.

The required $50 excise tax for passengers on large cruise ships was imposed by Alaskan voters last August as part of a citizen's initiative that sponsors said would help protect the state's water quality and its fisheries along with providing funds to improve port and harbor facilities and support commerce and regional tourism.

Alaska is believed to be the only state that charges people to visit.

Kuhns, who is traveling with his wife, Jean, in August to Alaska, said: "I was kinda surprised that Alaska would tax people from the United States who want to go to Alaska. Maybe Washington, Oregon and California should tax people from Alaska traveling to their states."

Debbie Parkins, a travel consultant for Valley Cruise & Travel in Albany, said, "Most passengers basically understand why they are paying the extra $50. People weren't as understanding that had already made their reservations and we had to tell them they owed an additional amount."

In the $50 fee is $4 that covers the cost of putting an "ocean ranger" on each ship to monitor emissions.

Also in the ballot measure approved by 52 percent of Alaskan voters is a provision that imposes a 33 percent gambling tax on a cruise ship's gaming operations while in state waters. A fourth provision subjects cruise lines to state corporate income tax.

Cruise operators have the option of recouping those additional fees by adding to passengers' fares.

One of the measure's sponsors, Joe Geldhof of Juneau, a spokesman for Responsible Cruising in Alaska, said in an interview posted on the Internet that the taxes were needed because "the cruise lines are selling Alaska while impacting our docks, roads, public facilities, wildlife and the quality of our lives."

Environmental groups pushed for passage of the initiative, while cruise line operators opposed the measure.

Cruise passengers, according to information posted on the Internet, account for 70 percent of all of the state's tourism. More than 950,000 people cruised to Alaska last summer.

Fares begin at $850 per person and can go as high as $2,000, Parkins said.