Alaska yens to capture more foreigners.

• Author: Kell, Lori
• Position: Alaska's tourism industry

The migration appeared to begin a bit earlier than usual this year. As sure as the grass began to turn green and flocks of gesse arrived in spring, so did the tourists with their luggage, cameras, binoculars and lists of attractions to visit.

The cruise-ship operators, restaurant and gift shop owners, hotel managers and private flying services were prepared for the early migration. Cruise-line operators added a week to the beginning and the end of their operating seasons, and Alaska businesses are prepared to reap the benefits of the "shoulder season."

Each year, hundreds of thousands of tourists come from all parts of the world: the Lower 48, Germany, Australia and Japan, among numerous other locations. More than 500,000 visitors flock to Alaska each year, pumping millions of dollars into the economy and creating thousands of jobs.

In 1989, 19,000 people were directly employed in the tourism industry, according to the Alaska Division of Tourism. The visitors industry is also credited with creating 38,000 additional jobs statewide. In 1991, tourism in Alaska is expected to support 20,000 jobs.

According to state figures, tourism is the third largest industry in Alaska, contributing approximately $500 million a year to the economy. In 1990, Alaska hosted 820,000 visitors, 630,000 of those during the summer season. This was a 12.5 percent increase over the 1989 summar season, which saw approximately 560,000 visitors. The total for all seasons in 1989 was 750,000 travelers.

Although the mainstay of Alaska tourism is the domestic visitor -- representing about 81 percent of summer vacation travelers -- international visitors are playing an increasingly important role in the economy. The remaining 19 percent includes Canadians (12 percent) and overseas visitors -- Europeans, Japanese and other summer vacationers.

Mary Klugherz, marketing consultant for the economic consulting firm of McDowell Group Inc. of Juneau, says although Alaska's international visitors represent a small percentage of the overall figure, they spend more than domestic tourists on a per capita basis. This, she says, makes international tourism an industry targeted for growth.

"German-speaking Europeans spend an average of $1,437 per person per trip, nearly three times the $567 average for all visitors," Klugherz notes.

High-spending habits aren't the only characteristics of international tourists valuable to Alaska businesses. "The European travelers -- for example, those from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria -- tend to take longer vacations than most other Alaska-bound travelers," Klugherz says. "They typically spend 13 nights, whereas the Americans and Japanese spend approximately 11 nights."

Overall, the Europeans made up 3.5 percent of the visitors, but accounted for 6 percent of spending, according to a 1989 McDowell Group study conducted for the Alaska Division of Tourism. The McDowell summary, "Alaska Visitor Expenditures Report," indicates that the Japanese spend an average of $658 per person per trip, 16 percent higher than the average visitor, but about the same as a visitor from the Midwest or Florida.

The European market, particularly German tourists, are like...