Governor’s education, tourism initiatives good for Alaskans

In typical election year fashion, the Alaska Legislature’s regular and special sessions will be noted more for what did not get done than what did. But lost in the political posturing and childish theatrics is some good, solid legislation that will benefit all Alaskans.

Gov. Sean Parnell was denied his big-ticket legislation — oil tax reform. Designed to address the reality of declining North Slope production and a trans-Alaska pipeline operating far below capacity, the governor’s reform bill was the highest profile issue left unresolved by a state Senate that appeared more intent on posturing than doing something meaningful about a problem that ignoring serves only to compound.

Voters will have the final say in the fall about whether anyone should be held accountable.

On a more positive note, several of Governor Parnell’s other priorities did receive the legislative stamp of approval. Among them, and of significance to many soon-to-be high school graduates and their families, Parnell’s Alaska Performance Scholarship program is now fully funded and implemented. The program incentivizes academic accomplishment by rewarding top performing students and easing the economic strain of attaining a college education.

Several initiatives aimed, directly and indirectly, at increasing opportunity for Alaskans through the responsible development of our commonly owned resources also won support in the Legislature. Among those was a $16 million investment in tourism marketing.

The tourism industry may not have the same economic firepower as other sectors of the state’s economy, but it is a potent, growing and renewable industry worth the investment.

Hit hard by the global economic downturn in 2008-09, the tourism industry in Alaska now appears on the rebound. It is easy to grumble behind slow-moving RVs that clog our highways and noisy cruise ships in our harbors. But sharing the wonders of the Last Frontier with visitors for a few months each year opens the door to nearly 40,000 mostly full-time jobs around the state, according to a study by the Juneau-based McDowell Group, which has tracked the economic impact of tourism in Alaska for decades.

Visitor spending and the jobs funded by that spending leave behind a $3.4 billion economic footprint that spans the state. Bed taxes, sales taxes and assorted user fees generated through tourism ease property tax burdens by pumping more than $200 million into state and local government coffers.

You don’t have to look hard here to see a multitude of tourism-related businesses. These are owned, operated and staffed by our friends and neighbors, and they are part of a potent economic engine for our community.

As we stand at the threshold of another tourist season, we see the value of investing public money to promote our state to potential visitors. The beauty and wonder of Alaska are renewable resources that have been and will continue to be harvested by generations. Investments that strengthen and further develop Alaska’s tourism infrastructure benefit us all.