By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Although the snow on the ground has just started melting, the summer visitor season has arrived.
Sitka is facing another summer without large cruise ships, but Visit Sitka’s Rachel Roy said Alaskan Dream Cruises concluded its first trip of the season here on Wednesday, and a cruise industry travel writer was given a tour of local attractions on Thursday, after the cruise.
“It’s an early season cruise, but there’s whale-watching and all the incredible experiences you can have with that,” Roy told the Sentinel Thursday. “(She) will be seeing some of the things you can experience in Sitka.”
The Assembly last week approved Visit Alaska’s request for full funding to market Sitka to independent travelers, charter boat visitors, cruise visitors and conventions. The $158,600 approved will be added to the $300,000 previously passed by the Assembly for a three-year contract.
In addition to marketing, Roy said, the nonprofit will be providing services to visitors, and businesses that rely on the visitors as a customer base.
Visit Sitka is part of the Chamber of Commerce, and receives most of the city’s 6 percent bed tax to cover marketing and other services related to tourism. This is the sixth year it has carried out visitor-related services on behalf of the city, (City staff also provides information and services to visitors at Harrigan Centennial Hall.)
Roy said she believes there’s been progress in the relationship between the organization and the Assembly in the past three years, and Visit Sitka has made an effort to outline its role and describe marketing clearly to the Assembly and city staff, she said.
“We really wanted the Assembly to connect with what we’re doing and why we’re doing it in our marketing strategies,” Roy said. “What is search engine optimization, what is a follower on Instagram, digital marketing ... Six years ago there was not that understanding about why marketing is so valuable.”
Roy said Visit Sitka’s task is big in the coming year.
Although the pandemic and Canada’s ban on cruise ships has meant Sitka is not receiving the hundreds of thousands of visitors it had expected, there’s still lots to do, including laying the groundwork for an influx of some 400,000 cruise visitors in 2022.
And the independent travel market is expected to regain some of its losses from last year, Roy added, with charter lodges filling up, Alaska Airlines adding flights May 19, and Delta Airlines starting back up May 28.
Roy doesn’t know the exact number to expect for the summer, but does know Visit Sitka will be busy - as it has been all winter, expecting tourism to ramp up.
“We’re busy right now,” she added.
Roy and her staff are preparing for the AlaskaHost state-certified training program next month, aimed at providing a good experience for customers in tourism related operations, including retail.
“Some of the training is about why tourism is important to the state of Alaska,” Roy said.
Another event is the Visit Sitka Summer Expo, which gives the public and front-line tourism industry workers a chance to learn about the offerings around town during the summer, connect businesses for joint projects, and help frontline workers be a good resource to visitors.
“For example, when you are at a restaurant, the server will know how a visitor could book a wildlife tour or get out to one of our attractions,” Roy said.
The event is 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, May 17, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
Visit Sitka also is working on a new “pocket guide” for visitors for dining and other activities; and is starting its volunteer training program Monday for those interested in working the front desk at the Visitor Information Center at 104 Lake Street.
As to how the Alaskan Dream Cruises inaugural 2021 trip went for the 12 passengers on the Kruzof Explorer, Allen Marine’s Zak Kirkpatrick said it went very well.
The group of locals and guests from New Mexico, and the Cruise Critic journalist Chris Faust, saw plenty of whales and other wildlife on the trip, and enjoyed a few excursions in kayaks.
“As always, they just fell in love with Sitka and the wilderness, and the wildlife of Southeast Alaska,” Kirkpatrick said.
But Kirkpatrick said it’s far from business as usual.
“We have a long road ahead in telling our story about Alaska tourism and speaking to specific relief,” Kirkpatrick said.
Allen Marine, which offers small cruises as well as shore excursions for large cruise ships, has lost over 95 percent of its revenue over the last year. Kirkpatrick said he will be listening intently to the governor’s press conference this afternoon and hoping that some of the federal relief money headed to the state will be directed at tourism businesses.
