Tourism helps drive local economy

“If you can’t mine it, drill it or catch it, you can always invite it.”

— Dennis Brandon,

longtime Alaska tourism leader

Alaska’s reliance on natural resources is well-documented, and for the foreseeable future, that isn’t going to change. Oil and gas are Alaska’s economic lifeblood, but unfortunately, we don’t often look past petroleum when it comes to the economic impact of other industries.

Tourism is Alaska’s leading renewable resource, and the quote from Dennis Brandon perfectly summarizes that ideology. At some point in the future, the oil will run out, but Alaska will continue to attract visitors who come for untamed beauty, breathtaking vistas of mountains and glaciers, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Tourism is a leading driver of Alaska’s economy once you get past oil and gas. And it’s not just an “Alaska” thing, it’s a “Valley” thing. Tourism is vitally important to the economic welfare of the Mat-Su Borough. Each summer, residents may get upset when they get stuck behind a motorhome on the Parks Highway, but the money those tourists spend goes a long way toward ensuring economic success.

In 2008, The McDowell Group reported to the Mat-Su Borough that the total annual value of the visitor industry to the Valley is estimated at $282 million — $201 million in direct spending and $71 million in indirect and induced spending. Traditional tourism businesses such as hotels and tour operators obviously see that money, but so do other businesses that may not see themselves as being in the tourism industry — a tank of gas in the RV at a local Tesoro station or a tackle box purchased from 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle, for example.

The visitor industry is also important in the Mat-Su Borough because of the employment opportunities it offers to residents. The McDowell Group found that 4,000 residents are employed in the Mat-Su visitor industry annually, and that contributed to more than $100 million in payroll. A healthy tourism industry keeps Valley residents employed — in the Valley, not Anchorage — and that payroll money is more likely to stay here rather than be spent elsewhere.

Often, I hear from local residents who ask why they should care about the state of the cruise industry, when we don’t have any ships coming to the Valley. I tell them that’s a shortsighted view, plain and simple. The fact is that 12 percent of cruise passengers spend additional non-tour package time in Alaska, and even more take part in traditional organized pre- or post-cruise tours, a majority of which stop in the Mat-Su Valley, where these passengers spend money.

Alaska is unique in that the entire state is a destination unto itself. When we travel to California, for example, we probably don’t take two weeks to visit San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego in the same trip. Those cities are independent destinations. When someone comes to Alaska, however, they tend to visit the entire state — from Seward to Fairbanks, including the Mat-Su Valley. We know cruise passengers often do the same, even if they are stopping in Juneau and Ketchikan, for example.

From the creation of jobs, the $282 million in spending and additional tax revenue it creates to the Mat-Su Borough, a healthy tourism economy makes good (dollars and) cents for the Valley.

Casey Ressler (casey@alaskavisit.com) is the marketing and communications manager at the Mat-Su Convention & Visitors Bureau.