Nature-based tourism: a new label for Southeast: the Panhandle attracts the adventuresome tourist who wants the real Alaska experience.

• Author: Bonham Colby, Nicole A.

To the locals, it's no surprise that Alaska's complicated coastline of spray-swept islands and tranquil inlets speaks to the soul of the traveler. To witness dawn break over the calm waters of Zimovia Strait or Nichols Passage, a mug of hot coffee warm in your hands and the briny smell of the sea in your nose--a few days of that and there is no question why people seek their solace in the sublime of Southeast Alaska.

Yet, researchers keep trying to put their quantitative finger on just what is that has visitors flocking to the waterways of Alaska's Inside Passage. Facts and figures aside, Southeast's seaside port enclaves and protected waterways have long provided the traveler, from the first tall-ship explorer to the Gold Rush miner, with an initial glimpse of the Great Land. Branded and re-branded again, the Panhandle continues to do so today--most recently re-emerging as "nature-based tourism."

A NATURAL PITCH

Earlier this year, the Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association (AWRTA) announced it would launch the first quality label for sustainable tourism operations. In January, AWRTA issued a call for 15 Alaska tourism businesses to voluntarily test the label program. The organization has two goals in mind. First, it aims to increase the market share for eco-tourism in a way that complements its conservation-minded philosophy. Second, it hopes to reap tangible benefits for its members, a scattered collection of mostly small, independent tourism operators statewide. In Southeast, its members includes companies like Ketchikan-based Alaska Coastal Quest, offering charter tours aboard the 60-foot vessel Misty Fjord; the operators of Alaska Discovery Inc. of Juneau, specializing in sea kayaking, rafting, canoeing, hiking and adventure tours; and Juneau-based Alaska Fly 'N Fish Charters, selling guided wilderness floatplane excursions off the beaten path.

A quality label, organizers say, would help visitors identify eco-friendly tour operators, can be used in media and advertising coverage of the state, and attaches a recognizable symbol and brand to the AWRTA philosophy. The group planned to distribute its label packages to the pilot program volunteers by press time, with the formal launch tentatively set for late this year or early 2008. For examples of similar efforts, AWRTA points to the success of Travel Green Wisconsin (www.travelgreenwisconsin. com) and Sustainable Tourism International (www.sustainabletourism.org).

THAT...