Tourism funds denied

MAT-SU -- A bill in the Alaska Legislature to boost the state funding of tourism marketing died when it was stalled in the Senate Rules Committee by Rules Committee chairman Randy Phillips, R-Eagle River. Dale Fox, board chairman of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA), called the action, "a bitter pill for us to swallow" in a press release, and said the action would lead to the death of small businesses around the state.

Throughout the lobbying effort ATIA has told legislatures that it's the little guy who'll be hit hardest if tourism should dip, but despite the united-front posturing of industry leaders many small business owners have a different view.

These nay-sayers in the industry won't say they are embarrassed by the effort for emergency funds, they just think the state budget gap is a large enough problem without their industry pestering the government for "emergency" funds.

"We're seeing the effect, really, of two bad years of the economy," said Donna Massay, owner of Iditarod House Bed and Breakfast in Palmer. "9-11 may have been the final straw, but the camel was well overloaded."

If the ATIA was in an awkward position, so was Massay. As a board member of the Mat-Su Convention & Visitor's Bureau (Mat-Su CVB) she voted in favor of a resolution supporting the emergency funding effort even though she didn't feel comfortable with it. Massay said her obligation was to the rank-and-file membership.

"My personal reservation is that everyone's in a crunch and I would rather take a hit in my small business than have my community's schools take a hit," she said. Tourism marketing, like the rest of the state budget, needs a long-term solution, according to Massay. "I do not feel [legislators] are giving the state's second-largest industry the attention it deserves, but just doing it piecemeal is not the solution."

Fellow Mat-Su CVB board member Doreen Toller, who runs a lodge and tour company, felt the same way.

"[Massay] and I were in the minority on that," Toller said. "But as a board member we have a responsibility -- it's majority rule."

Massay is doubling her small operation from two rooms to four this year. She was painting the new rooms last week. Admittedly, she doesn't have as much at stake as some business owners, but she said tourism advocates should be watching the state parks budget as closely as their marketing dollars. Infrastructure such as restrooms and campgrounds that attract and keep visitors can result in spin-off dollars for the small businesses.

"The impact of the budget cut to state parks would be much more traumatic than the loss of the ATIA funding," she said.

The state has already pledged $4.6 million to ATIA for this year's marketing effort, which was matched by $3.2 million from the tourism industry, according to figures supplied by ATIA. The association has 1,000 member-businesses, 94 percent of which have fewer than 50 employees -- 64 percent have fewer than five employees.

In January ATIA asked for $12.5 million in emergency funds. A compromise bill for $6 million also surfaced in Juneau, but that, too, was quashed. The money was to be spent on TV and newspaper advertising in the Lower 48, as well as a targeted mail campaign. The ad campaigns were already planned, ATIA was going to inject the new money into the existing campaigns in order to extend their reach.

The people who make their living in tourism watched the drama unfold as ATIA lobbied, bookings continued to be slow and newspaper columnists weighed in with opinions on the matter.

"The state made a big mistake," lodge owner Dan Gabryszak said. "My feeling is that Alaska would be one of the safest places to go."

Gabryszak owns and operates Yentna Station Roadhouse on the Yentna River. The lodge is about 20 miles from Susitna Landing. Gabryszak attracts snowmachine travelers during winter and said he did about as well this winter as the year before. Alaskans, he said, know how to get out and have fun in the snow.

But summer is a different scene on the Yentna. Gabryszak has two boats that take visitors, mostly from Outside, to fishing spots each day. The lodge hosts eight to 10 guests at a time and Gabryszak relies on small air charters to fly his guests in from Anchorage.

"I don't think [marketers] need to push for the tour ships, those sorts of companies can handle it. They have a lot of resources. But we should be pushing for the fishing guides and the small tour operators," Gabryszak said.

In April, ATIA released statistics that showed bookings and inquiries were down 13 percent industry-wide, an improvement since the standstill last fall. ATIA numbers show bookings by category, and the gains were not across the board. Yentna Station Roadhouse is in a category being hit particularly hard. Wilderness lodge bookings were down 22 percent from March of 2001.

On the road system things are looking a little better. At Toller's Timbers, Doreen and Bob Toller are diversifying and working aggressively for growth. In 1999 the Tollers added a day-tour company called Alaskan Tours to their business plan. They are bullish on Valley attractions and said their tour packages include other Mat-Su CVB member companies.

"Whether it's a package or a tour we usually have five to nine members involved," Doreen said. "Our colleagues offer the activities. That's what makes it a vacation."

Toller's Timbers is made up of four cottages and one two-bedroom apartment. It's a mix that allows the Tollers to market their operation as interim housing for people moving to the Valley. Each cottage has a full kitchen, which makes them more marketable during winter. The growth in the Valley has brought in professionals from retail chains and the local hospital to stay during winter months.

Doreen said she "plays the calendar game" for summer bookings and is able to get an average length-of-stay of seven nights, in part because the cottages feel more like a vacation home than a motel. The tour guide service complements the lodging and has turned Doreen into a concierge of sorts.

The Tollers are more concerned with the state parks maintenance budget than they are with the loss of marketing dollars. Bob is concerned that the new Matanuska Glacier scenic overlook could close. If that happens, he'll likely be pulling over somewhere for the view despite the lack of amenities -- as will any number of drivers, which, Bob warns, won't be a good thing for the roadside environment or for highway travelers.

When Mat-Su CVB hammered out the wording for its resolution on emergency marketing dollars there was a compromise of sorts. The board members added a caveat that asked the Legislature to work for a long-term solution to the state's fiscal problems.

Massay said the matter was "well-discussed" at board meetings and that there were differences of opinion from operators of all sizes among Mat-Su CVB members and throughout the industry. ATIA asked smaller operators to lobby Juneau, but it wasn't a case of the large cruise ship and hotel chain operators pushing buttons with the little guys.

"My voice was heard," Massay said. "And no, I don't feel bullied."