Talking tourism

Posted by Paulette Simpson

Posted: July 22, 2009 - 4:44 pm

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This Friday, nearly 200 Southeast Alaskans are coming together in Juneau to talk tourism. The 2009 Economic Summit on Tourism Southeast will involve all levels of visitor industry stakeholders: tourism business owners and employees, support industry businesses and elected officials from Haines, Skagway, Juneau, Petersburg, Sitka and Ketchikan.

The impetus for the summit is the anxiety over the large discounts necessary to fill cruise ships this season and the corresponding less-than-robust shore sales reported by tour operators and shop owners so far this summer. Also of concern is the alarming redeployment of ships for 2010, expected to reduce the number of visitors to Juneau by as many as 150,000.

Losing ship calls will affect both the private and public sectors. There isn’t much that escapes the CBJ’s 5 percent sales tax and cruise passengers spend an average of $175 per person when visiting our port. Last summer the cruise lines delivered 1 million visitors to our community so it’s hard to minimize their importance to the city treasury.

Summit participants will attempt to identify and quantify the impacts of the current economic slowdown and the effect of the citizens’ initiative passed in 2006 that instituted a $50 “head tax” and other penalties on visiting ships.

Participants will be asked to consider where to go from here. Is there anything we can or should do to prepare for next summer and beyond?

Tourism has been part of the Southeast economic scene since the early days. The discovery of gold in the Juneau area in 1880, followed by the 1897 Klondike discovery began luring the well-heeled and the curious north to view the gold rush. By 1899 steamship itineraries often included a visit to Glacier Bay.

A trip to Alaska today is a much more accessible proposition than it was 100 years ago. Our visitor industry offers options for every budget so sport fishermen, ferry travelers and eco-adventurers (in addition to both high-end and discount cruisers) can all experience our state and bring those valued “outside” dollars with them when they come.

Most of our visitors use mass transit to get here and mass transit once they dock. Imagine the carbon footprint of Juneau’s 1 million ship passengers if they all arrived by jet and rented cars instead of boarding busses to visit our attractions.

Visitors come; they admire our scenery, wildlife and cultural attractions and take advantage of our recreational opportunities. They leave and what do they take? Photographs and memories and souvenirs that enhance both their memories and our economy.

With about 2,200 people directly employed in Juneau’s visitor industry, these valuable private sector jobs deserve a little attention and it’s appropriate they’re getting it.

The first two hours of the tourism summit will be broadcast live on radio stations throughout Southeast and all five hours will be streamed live at http://ftffoundation.org/program.htm on the live feed page.

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