Governor, tourism industry offers summit </MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 2:17 PM on Monday, August 17, 2009

Governor, tourism industry offers summit

STAFF REPORT

State tourism organizations, Gov. Sean Parnell and other industry and community leaders will meet for the Southcentral Alaska Tourism Summit today, from 1:30-5 p.m. at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage to determine next steps for Alaska's visitor industry. The event is free and open to the public. The summit will address the challenging situation faced by Alaska's visitor industry from the effects of the global recession and a reduction in cruise deployments, among other factors. Businesses and political leaders will comment on the state of the 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. The Southeast Alaska Tourism Summit, a similar event held last month in Juneau, attracted more than 200 attendees.

"We're very concerned about how this summer will shake out, and we won't be out of the woods next summer either," Ron Peck, president and COO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, said in a press release Monday. "We'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."

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.