Summer visitors targeted in winter

There’s no secret that a majority of visitors to Alaska come here during the summer months — in fact, 90 percent of out-of-state visitors come to the Mat-Su during the peak season, according to a 2007 Mat-Su Borough study. But targeting those visitors and influencing their decisions to travel to Alaska starts now, in the middle of winter.

The Alaska Travel Industry Association unveiled three, 30-second commercials that will run on major national networks throughout this quarter. These image-based advertisements show off Alaska and invite potential visitors to come this year.

Those advertisements aren’t cheap, and the Mat-Su CVB certainly couldn’t afford a similar national campaign. But by working cooperatively with ATIA, we make our budget stretch and still capitalize on an opportunity to reach a national audience.

In mid-January, during the peak of these Alaska awareness advertisements, the Mat-Su CVB will ship 50,000 visitor guides to people who requested more information about Alaska through the ATIA office in Anchorage. We feel this gives us a great opportunity to reach people who have already taken the initiative to ask for more information — a sign they are either seriously considering a trip to Alaska or have already made plans — at a time when Alaska is fresh on their minds because of the national ATIA advertising.

Alaska also has enjoyed tremendous exposure through reality-based series on the Travel Channel and Discovery Channel. Leaving politics aside, there’s no doubt that “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” shows off Alaska’s grandeur on a national scale and has piqued people’s interest in our area specifically. On a smaller example, “Man vs. Food” on the Travel Channel did a small feature on Talkeetna, and Talkeetna Roadhouse owner Trisha Costello still reports getting comments from people who saw her establishment on the television.

Winter is also the time when the Mat-Su CVB ramps up our marketing to group tour operators by attending the National Tour Association and American Bus Association conventions. We’ll also have visitor guides in the Alaska booth at the two largest national RV consumer shows during January and February. In March, we are teaming up with ATIA to have a representative in the Alaska booth at a national travel consumer show in Los Angeles.

The marketing efforts are multi-faceted, and target all sectors — in-state residents, domestic visitors, the international market and the group tour operators. Through a targeted marketing campaign, and by working with the statewide tourism office, we can assure that the Mat-Su Valley is well represented to potential visitors.

During the dark of winter we are working to ensure a bright summer in the tourism industry and beyond.

Casey Ressler (casey@alaskavisit.com) is the marketing and communications manager at the Mat-Su CVB.