CIRI Alaska Tourism Inc. a Splashing Success.

• Author: SMITH, DAWNELL
• Position: Cook Inlet Region Inc.

Cook Inlet Region Inc. began its tourism investments in 1997 and has since dedicated $100 million to Alaska tourism over a five-year period.

When compared to Cook Inlet Region Inc.'s overall revenue of $300 million last year, CIRI Alaska Tourism Inc.'s projected earnings of $15 million sounds like spare change. Yet, CIRI considers the hospitality and travel industry an integral part of its portfolio.

CIRI has diversified nationwide investments in tourism, real estate, communications, construction services, equipment distribution and natural resources, explained Dennis Brandon, president of CIRI Alaska Tourism Inc. "CIRI Alaska Tourism is a part of this diversification strategy."

Within the tourism component itself, operations run the gamut from glacier tours to an urban RV Park. In peak season, CIRI's tourism business employs over 400 people in jobs that range from navigating Prince William Sound and Kenai Fjords National Park to coordinating naturalist presentations, cooking salmon for hundreds of hungry sightseers and pouring Alaskan-made beers.

Specifically, CIRI Alaska Tourism includes Kenai Fjords Tours, Prince William Sound Cruises and Tours, the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, the Seward Windsong Lodge, the Anchorage RV Park and Alaska Heritage Tours, the latter the tour packaging arm of the business.

Though each of these entities stands alone, they also fit into a convenient unit that spans strategic travel areas from Seward to Denali National Park. Right now, CIRI owns lodging facilities at Seward, Fox Island, Grower Island, Talkeetna and Denali National Park, and tour boat services at Kenai Fjords National Park and Prince William Sound.

From the standpoint of creature comforts and atmosphere, the sites cover the gamut from the towering 45-foot river stone fireplace in the foyer of the Talkeetna lodge to the rustic cabins stocked with sleeping bags and marine-type incinerator toilets at Growler Island Wilderness Camp in Prince William Sound.

When building a breadth of services and facilities like these, CIRI strives to provide educational and active tour experiences that expose travelers to Native Alaskan culture and the state's natural resources, according to Brandon.

"The new visitor wants a real experience, which includes these components," he added. "We aim to fulfill that need."

Not surprisingly, this objective requires a presence in the most popular and accessible travel destinations in the state.

"Our major growth areas for tourism...