Visitors center eyes move to new location

How do you find the Mat-Su Valley Visitor Information Center? That’s easy — all you have to do is go past the center on the Parks Highway, take an off ramp, double back, go through a roundabout, circle behind Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, then take a left.

The point is obvious — the Visitor Center, which assists tourists and provides with information to extend their time spent in the Mat-Su Valley, is simply not accessible, thanks to large-scale development surrounding the current location at Mile 35.5 Parks Hwy.

In 2008, the CVB was awarded a grant by the National Scenic Byways program to start the planning phase for a new visitor center. That comprehensive plan is now available at matsuvalleyvisitorcenter.com. We are now entering the next phase in this process — site selections and building partnerships.

On May 11, from noon to 3 p.m., the public is invited to an open house, at Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area on the Glenn Highway. The CVB board of directors, along with other project partners, will lead tours around two of the potential sites identified in the plan.

Refreshments will be served, and a presentation detailing the plan and the process will take place just after noon.

A new visitor center would have several impacts on the community. The vision for a new center focuses on the “gateway” aspect — it would serve as an initial stop for visitors coming from Anchorage along the Glenn Highway. Through ease of access and location, we can attract more visitors to the center. That means we can provide visitors more information about the area, including lodging opportunities, activities and more. The end result is visitors will stay longer, spend more and make bigger contributions to the economy of the Mat-Su Borough.

Another aspect of a new visitor center is the effect on the community. The long-range plans for the center include it being a community center that could be used for gatherings, meetings and more. The Morris Thompson Cultural Center in Fairbanks is a perfect example of this concept in action — and the results for the Fairbanks community have been tremendous. The center has even hosted weddings in the three years it has been in operation.

A new visitor center makes sense for the Valley not only because it would help strengthen the tourism industry’s contribution to the economy, it also makes sense because it boosts the infrastructure locally, which helps enhance the destination as a whole. It’s a cycle that only helps local business — tourism infrastructure development increases visitation numbers, higher visitation numbers bring in more money to the community, creating more demand for further infrastructure development.

We invite everyone to visit the project’s website, matsuvalleyvisitorcenter.com, and to plan on attending the open house on May 11.

For more information, contact Bonnie Quill, Mat-Su CVB executive director, at 746-5000.

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