Reports From The Heartland
It's still a little early to get reports about what's happening in
Alaska during the tourism season. This is because only figures for
the first two quarters are available from most government
agencies.
And we all know that it's that third quarter --
the summer months -- that mean the most to us.
Nevertheless, the figures we have gotten show a genuine upward
trend -- even if the gains are small. Surprisingly, though, in some places, gains are galloping forward.
Fairbanks:
4% More This July Over Last
The Fairbanks City prints its bed tax numbers on a monthly
basis. And bed taxes are up. To date, third and fourth quarter figures aren't in yet
-- since it's still October.
The month of July, which is the first strong month of the Alaska
tourism season, saw an increase of 4% in bed taxes in July 2013,
over July 2012, said Fairbanks City Hall.
You can see the city's tallies here:
Border Crossings:
Small Gains At The Alcan Port
The Alcan Port border crossing numbers are kept something of
a state secret all summer long. But, we called the guys up at the
border this week, and they got right back to us, with their tallies.
Here's what we found.
Dan Journey, Acting U.S. Alcan Port Director, told us that
last year, from January to September, 73,099 people came in over
the Alcan. This year, in that period of time, 74,068 came over the border,
in buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles -- and peddling in across Canada
on bicycles. That's a 1.4% increase -- holding ground, and slightly
more than the year before.
"The big campers really hit us hard at the beginning of
the summer. They want to get up here," Dan noted.
He said that there was a consistent upward trend.
Just for reference -- each vehicle that comes over the Alcan averages
just over two passengers per vehicle.
Kenai Peninsula:
"We're Definitely Up"
Shanon Hamrick, in Kenai, runs the Kenai Peninsula Tourism
Marketing Council. She told us, "We don't have our 3rd quarter sales
results. We do not have a bed tax here on the Kenai. So we have to
go on our sales taxes. Through the 2nd quarter, primary tourism business
taxable sales increased by over $5.5 million over the first and second
quarters. It's not a huge percent, but we're definitely up. Numbers will be impacted
a bit by the closure of the king fishery, because July is in the 3rd quarter…"
Homer:
It Was A Very Good Year
Here's a look at what in-state tourism, and warm weather, can help do.
The Homer News reported in early October that this was the best
year for Homer in a long time. Here's just one example. Homer estimated that 5,000 Alaskans and 10,000 out-of-staters bought halibut derby tickets.
Of 14 local Homer businesses interviewed, and asked to rate the
summer on a scale between one and ten -- with ten being truly great --
75% came up with an eight or nine.
The Homer News story written about the visitor surge
("The Summer of 2013: A very good year")
captured a number of Homer-ites talking about how important Alaskan
travelers were to their summer economy.
Anchorage:
5% Increase Projected Over 2012's "Great" Year
According to an August story in the Alaska Journal of Commerce,
"The municipality has seen record bed tax collections in recent years.
Anchorage saw a 7 percent increase in bed taxes in 2012 compared to
2011, and the highest total ever. '2012 was a great bed tax year,' said
'Visit Anchorage.' This year should be about 5 percent higher than that, setting a new record."
The Anchorage Municipal Clerk agreed. She told us, "It's been generally upward."
Mat-Su Borough:
Slight Rise, with 2nd Half Of Year Not Counted Yet
Michael Newman at the borough told us, "Fiscal Year '13 is higher than fiscal
year '12." So far it's 1% up, but as Michael notes, its, "…the second and third quarters, the summer months, which are the peak…"
Denali Park:
Back On Its Feet After 2009 & 2010
The Denali Borough's treasurer, Annette Ziegman, gave us a rundown of this
year's bed taxes. Which are climbing back up again.
2008 was a high point in Denali.Then, in 2009 and 2010, there were big slumps.
There was a huge jump in revenue in 2011, and since then, a steady increase. The expected amount in 2013 will be approaching the bumper years of 2007 and 2008.
Here's her chart for the Denali Borough:
Calendar Year OA Income % Change from Prior CY
2013 $2,769,281 (EST) +5.08
2012 $2,635,334 +3.63
2011 $2,543,078 +23.74
2010 $2,055,254 -14.07
2009 $2,391,719 -17.20
2008 $2,888,757 +5.15
2007 $2,747,240 +7.74
2006 $2,549,871
In Other Related News…
Alaska:
Better Than National Average
State Department of Labor statistics, released in September, 2013, show
that Alaska's unemployment was still well under that national rate of 7.2%.
Seasonally adjusted, in August, unemployment in Alaska was 6.5%,
up 2/10ths of a percent from July.
Lest We Forget:
2012 Was A Surprisingly
Good Year For Alaska Tourism
In Anchorage, conventions were at an all-time high in 2012.
The Alaska Department of Labor, reporting on bed taxes that year, reported
that Anchorage was up 6%, Fairbanks Borough was up 17%, Mat-Su
was up 10%, and Juneau was up 9% in 2012…
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