Alaska visitor industry to host summit on tourism downturn

Businesses and political leaders from Alaska will comment on the state of the tourism industry, give a prognosis for the future, explore possibilities for increased tourism-marketing funding, scrutini

Businesses and political leaders from Alaska will comment on the state of the tourism industry, give a prognosis for the future, explore possibilities for increased tourism-marketing funding, scrutinize Alaska’s regulatory and tax environment, and brainstorm ways to attract more visitors at The Southeast Alaska Tourism Summit on Thursday, August 20 from 1:30-5:00 pm at the Denaโ€™ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.

Alaska tourism organizations, Governor Sean Parnell, and other industry and community leaders will convene to determine next steps for Alaskaโ€™s visitor industry. The event is free and open to the public. A similar event held last month in Juneau, attracted more than 200 attendees.

The summit, co-sponsored by the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Alaska Travel Industry Association, and other organizations, will discuss the challenging situation faced by Alaskaโ€™s visitor industry from the effects of the global recession and a reduction in cruise deployments, among other factors.

โ€œWeโ€™re very concerned about how this summer will shake out, and we wonโ€™t be out of the woods next summer either,โ€ said Ron Peck, president and COO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association. โ€œWeโ€™re inviting residents and businesses to have a voice in this important discussion and hear from industry and community leaders as we put our heads together and try to come up with some answers.โ€

The discussion will be moderated by former KTUU anchor John Tracy. Panelists will include Stan Stephens of Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises in Valdez; Rick Erickson of Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska; Susan Bell of the Juneau-based research firm The McDowell Group; Julie Saupe, president and CEO of the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau; Deb Hickok, president and CEO of the Fairbanks Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Peck of the Alaska Travel Industry Association.

Event registration and additional details are available at http://www.alaskatourismsummit.org.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...