Valley tourism industry welcomes visitors back to Alaska

PALMER — After the coronavirus pandemic shut down the tourist season in 2020, local tour operators and tourism industry workers are back to serving out of state visitors to Alaska this summer.

Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Bonnie Quill presented to the Mat-Su Borough Assembly on Tuesday ahead of the MSCVB board’s vote on their budget later this week. Quill presented a detailed sheet of expenditures and revenues over the past year.

“There are positives to report but it’s definitely not a back to normal summer season,” said Quill. “Larger operators that depend on the cruise visitors and optional tours will still struggle greatly. I will tell you that eight out of my 10 board members, their businesses will still be down 50 to 75 percent this summer.”

In a typical summer, nearly 600 cruise ships would sail through Southeast Alaska and port at communities along the way for activities and exploration. After a canceled cruise season in 2021, Quill reported that 80 sailings are planned this summer beginning in late July, though some companies have yet to secure port agreements with certain cities. Of the nine cruise companies planning to sail visitors to Alaska this summer, Quill said that some companies are opting to reach a 95 percent vaccination level of crew and passengers while others will perform simulated sailings to receive certificates. Another 10 percent of annual visitors come to Alaska and the Mat-Su Valley along the Al-Can Highway, which remains closed at the Canadian border.

“Nationally people are planning summer vacations but many of them are planning to travel by car regionally. They’re seeking outdoor recreation and health and wellness opportunities after being cooped up from the pandemic. You have no doubt heard of the rental car shortages and the staffing challenges, a big change especially for Alaska is the short booking window. Alaska has usually had a six- to nine-month booking cycle. This has really thrown off many tour operators like Mayor (Vern) Halter who are now getting bookings on short notice,” said Quill. “And lastly here’s good news. I learned that Good Morning America will be coming to Alaska to broadcast live on the solstice from Seward. That will definitely be a big PR hit for tourism all over Alaska.”

The MSCVB typically relies on a bed tax established in the Borough, 65 percent of which goes to MSCVB and 35 percent of which goes to tourism infrastructure projects. That budget was zeroed out in 2020 and instead, the MSCVB received $1.5 million in CARES act funding last year to operate for two years. Quill reported that the budget for FY 21 was $749,000 and preliminary budget documents presented that have yet to be approved by the board total $702,000.

During 2020, the Borough budgeted $930,000 to the MSCVB. Quill also reported that the MSCVB received a $170,000 grant from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development in May that will be used for covid-safe travel promotion. Of that grant, $50,000 went towards an ad that launched last week on tripadvisor.com. Last December, Quill said that a comprehensive research study was commissioned to determine more about the 2021 visitor season and identify and profile high value travelers to Alaska and the Mat-Su Valley.

“This information was extremely valuable in targeting those potential travelers who find Alaska and the Mat-Su Valley appealing and the messaging that resonated with them in the planning stage,” said Quill. “We took the opportunity to upgrade our listings to a new listings pro platform where businesses have more real estate to post photos and videos, update amenities related to covid and post specials.”

Last summer, MSCVB partnered with the Alaska Travel Industry Association in the “Show Up For Alaska’’ campaign directed at in-state travelers. This summer, the campaign is taking on a new look with a trails theme, highlighting camping and hiking trails and trails with eating and drinking opportunities. MSCVB also engaged in various digital marketing campaigns including an interactive puzzle and continuing to update their events calendar. The Visitor’s Guide produced by the MSCVB has also been aggressively marketed to potential visitors.

“Last winter during the phase where people were dreaming and beginning to plan for travel, we scheduled a Facebook ad campaign to drive website traffic and request a visitor guide. We targeted the six metropolitan cities in our research that had the highest potential for visiting the Mat-Su,” said Quill. “This is going to make a big impression. The guide will be printed in September and we anticipate an increase in visitor’s guide requests and web traffic from this very very important trip planning tool.”

While Quill detailed the extensive work that the MSCVB has done during the length of the pandemic to connect with tourism industry operators and reach out to potential visitors, not all businesses have gotten back to showing tourists Alaska. Quill noted that the Valley’s largest hotel Mount McKinley Princess Lodge with 470 rooms remains closed and the second largest hotel Talkeetna Alaska Lodge is operating at half capacity.

Following Quill’s presentation, Halter asked Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Mat-Su office director Todd Smoldon to thank him for the national advertising campaign.

“Yesterday I had a group of 15 that was booked through a smaller operator like Ms. Quill was talking about,” said Halter. “There was five from South Carolina and I said well why did you choose Alaska and they said well Governor Dunleavy has been appearing on tv down in South Carolina saying come visit Alaska. So tell him thank you, it’s working.”